PA 

L2V3 



■ 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



©Iptp. (Sapijw$t Ifa.- 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



/ 



DE AMICITIA 

( CONCERNING FRIENDSHIP) 

MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO 



WITH 

Life of the Author, Topics for Discussion, and 
Brief Biographical Dictionary, 



MARY E. VAUGHAN 




NOV 27n.:\^lj/ 



CHICAGO: 
Albert, Scott &> Co. 



^3 



> 



COPYRIG M"T, 
ALBERT, SOOTT A. CO. 
1891. 



LIFE OF CICERO. 



The great Roman orator and statesman, Marcus Tul- 
lius Cicero, was born Jan. 3, 106 B. C, in the vicinity 
of Arpinurn, a town about fifty miles east of Rome. 
The father of Cicero was an amiable, book-loving, coun- 
try gentleman, with seemingly no ambition, but for his 
two sons, to both of whom he gave every opportunity 
for making the most of themselves in the world. The 
two brothers displayed such an aptitude for learning 
that their father removed with them to Rome, where 
they received instructions from the best teachers in the 
capital. The names of many masters have been given us 
under whom Cicero was educated. One of the most cele- 
brated was the Greek poet, Archias, of Antioch, who, 
like many other educated Greeks of that day, made his 
way to Rome. What Cicero owed to him we do not 
know, but to Cicero Archias owes immortality. His 
claim to citizenship was disputed; and Cicero, pleading 
on his behalf, made one of those shorter speeches which 
is perfect in melody, in taste, and in language. In a cer- 
tain passage, speaking on behalf of so excellent a profes- 
sion in the art, he sings the praises of literature generally: 
" Other recreations," he says, " do not belong to all sea- 
sons, nor to all ages, nor to all places. These pursuits 
nourish our youth and delight our old age. They adorn 
our prosperity, and give a refuge and a solace to our 



vi 



LIFE OF CICEKO. 



troubles. They charm us at home and are not in our 
way when we are abroad." Archias probably did some- 
thing for Cicero in directing his taste, and richly did 
Cicero reward him. 

At sixteen Cicero went through the ceremony of 
putting off his boy's dress, the toga praetexta, and 
appearing in the toga virilis before the praetor, thus 
assuming his right to go about a man's business. 
When this was done, he studied under Scaevola, pon- 
tifex maximus, and in later years during the Civil 
War, under Phaedrus, the Epicurean, Philo, chief of 
the new Academy, Diototus, the Stoic, and Molo, the 
Rhodian. Having carefully cultivated his powers, Cicero 
began his career as a pleader in the forum. His first 
extant speech was delivered when he was twenty-six, in 
behalf of P. Quintius. The next year he defended 
Roscius of Ameria, charged with parricide by a freed- 
man of Sulla. In 79 he went to Greece, partly that he 
might avoid Sulla, whom he had offended, but partly 
also that he might improve his health and complete his 
studies. At Athens he formed that friendship with Pom- 
pon ins Atticus which lasted until his death. It was to 
this rich Roman gentleman, long resident in Greece, that 
half of the eight hundred letters of Cicero, which have 
come down to us, were written. To the preservation of 
his private letters written with inimitable naivete, and 
in the most charming style, is due the fact that we know 
so well the details of Cicero's life today. After a de- 
lightful year of travel and study in Greece, he inquired 
of the Delphic oracle whether he should devote his life 
(he was then twenty-nine), to literature or to politics. 



LIFE OF CICERO. 



Vll 



The answer was worded with the customary ingenuity 
of the oracle 6 ' Follow Nature and take not the opinion 
of the multidude for the guide of your life." In which- 
ever way the inquirer interpreted it, he returned to 
Rome, and plunged into that exciting career of the law- 
courts and the forum, where he had already made a 
name, and where, for a full generation to come, he was 
to play so prominent a part. Before his return to Rome 
he visited Asia and the Isle of Rhodes. He conversed 
with Xenocles, of Adramyttium; Dionysius, of Magne- 
sia, and Menippus, of Caria; at Rhodes, he studied ora- 
tory with Apollonius and philosophy with Posidonius. 
Apollonius, not understanding Latin, requested Cicero 
to declaim in Greek. He complied willingly, thinking 
that his faults would thus be better pointed out to him. 
When he had finished, all were loud in praise, and 
Apollonius said, " You have my praise and admiration, 
Cicero, and Greece my pity and commiseration, since 
those arts and that eloquence which are the only glories 
that remain to her, will now be transferred by you to 
Rome." With health firmly established and oratorical 
powers greatly improved, he soon obtained the highest 
distinction, and his success in the forum paved the way 
to all the great political offices, each of which he held 
in succession. At thirty-two he was quaestor at Lily- 
baeum in Sicily and managed the finances of that beau- 
tiful and much-plundered province with such wisdom 
and fairness as thoroughly to endear himself to its in- 
habitants, and to secure, at the same time, the dislike 
of those patricians at Rome, of whose practice his fair- 
ness was an implied censure. Two years later, after 



Vlll 



LIFE OF CICERO. 



his election to the sedileship of the next year (an office 
which conferred the superintendence of the public build- 
ings of Rome, and the regulation of certain great games 
and shows), Cicero revisited Sicily to collect evidence 
against Verres, whom he had himself impeached for his 
gross mal-administration as governor of the island. 
Verres was convicted, and the grateful Sicilians brought 
Cicero all sorts of presents which he used to reduce the 
public price of provisions, and not for his own profit. 

In his thirtieth year he was married to Terentia, a lady 
of fortune and family. Their two children, a daughter 
Tullia, and a son Marcus, have a prominent place in 
those charming letters to Atticus. " Tulliola deliciolae 
nostrae" — My little darling of a Tullia's name occurs) 
in almost every one of the early letters; and the deep- 
est joy, and, alas! the keenest sorrow of the father's 
life were latent, had he but known it, in these words. 
It was his irritable fastidiousness in money matters 
which led Cicero to divorce his wife Terentia, with 
whom he had lived comfortably for thirty years, and to 
whom he was writing freely and affectionately up to the 
very eve of the sad event. He discovered that, during 
his mournful year of exile she had not only been specu- 
lating freely, — as many Roman ladies did in those days, 
— but that she had been in league with a former slave of 
theirs, to cheat him out of large sums. His wrath was 
naturally high, and his remedy was at hand. In a soci- 
ety where divorce was of daily occurrence, there is no 
wonder that the remedy was promptly applied. Cicero's 
standards were probably lax enough in some respects, 
compared with those of our day, but the taint of pecu- 



LIFE OF CICERO. 



ix 



niary meanness and indirection was one which he could 
not and would not tolerate. He married not long after 
a young and beautiful woman, but his domestic happi- 
ness was at an end, as shortly after this marriage his 
beloved Tullia died in her husband's house. The phil- 
osophers from all parts came to comfort the heart broken 
father, for his grief was so excessive that he put away 
his newly married wife because she seemed to be pleased 
at the death of Tullia. Here we see his weakness and 
strength. He was changeful and vain, but loving and 
upright. 

Cicero's greatest work as a statesman was the sup- 
pression of the conspiracy of Cataline, which broke out 
during his consulship and was crushed by his prudence 
and energy. For this service he received the highest 
honors; he was called the " Father of his Country," and 
thanksgivings in his name were voted to the gods. But 
as soon as he had laid down his consulship he had to 
contend with the friends of the conspirators whose death 
he had decreed. His mortal enemy Clodius brought 
forward a bill banishing any one who should be found 
to have put to death a Roman citizen untried. The tri- 
umvirs, Caesar, Pompey and Crassus, left Cicero to his 
fate. Cicero's courage failed him; he voluntarily re- 
tired from Rome before the measure of Clodius was put 
to the vote, and crossed over to Greece. Here he gave 
way to excessive grief and unmanly despair. And yet 
he had often desired his friends not to call him orator 
but philosopher, because he had made philosophy his 
business, and had only used oratory as an instrument 
for attaining his objects in public life! Meanwhile his 



X 



LIFE OF CICERO. 



friends at Rome were exerting themselves in his behalf 
and obtained his recall from banishment in the course 
of the next year. Though he was recalled with every 
mark of honor, it was to find orderly government at an 
end. The magnificent defence of Milo was his last pro- 
test against the reign of force that daily became more 
imminent in Rome. The two following years he served 
as Proconsul in Cilicia, and returned to find all things 
ripe for civil war. Pompey became leader of the con- 
servative party, and after trying in vain to reconcile 
Pompey and Caesar, leader of the popular party, Cicero 
cast his fortunes with Pompey in the fatal campaign 
of Pharsalia (B. C. 48). Caesar not only pardoned 
Cicero, but upon landing at Brundusium, in Sept., 47, 
he greeted him with great kindness and respect, and al- 
lowed him to return to Rome Cicero now retired from 
public life, and it was during these three or four years 
preceding the assassination of Caesar that all the moral and 
philosophical treatises, the Tusculanae, the essays on 
Friendship and Old Age, were produced. Cicero was 
not a party to that conspiracy which was consummated 
on the ides of March (B. C. 44), but its perpetrators 
appealed to him first for applause when the deed was 
done, and they did not appeal in vain. For a brief 
period he seems to have been deluded by the belief that 
the idea of his life was vindicated, the republic regen- 
erated, and her wrongs avenged. Then the populace 
veered; the conspirators were paralyzed; the elements 
of the second triumvirate made their sinister appearance. 
Brutus and Cassius with their handful of aristocratic ad- 
herents, withdrew to Greece to meet their fate at Phil- 



LIFE OF CICERO. 



xi 



ippi. Cicero, who had been considering the question 
of accompanying them, and who joined them for a 
single night at Velia, turned back at the earnest persua- 
sion of Brutus himself, to make one more attempt to 
revive the dying republican cause at Rome. Whether 
or no, Cicero in by-gone days had played the craven, 
there was no question of his daring now. He attacked 
Antony in those terrible Philippics which later proved 
his ruin. He tried to see in "young Octavius," the ris- 
ing star of the old Roman party. He tried to win Cae- 
sar's young and comely nephew, and to mould him into 
the sorely-needed patriot leader. We now know that it 
was all in vain, that Antony defied and Octavius be- 
trayed him. He himself suspected it would be so in 
the rare moments when the brave old patriot allowed 
himself to despond. " We have killed the king," he 
would then say bitterly, " but the kingdom is with us 
still. We have taken away the tyrant; the tyranny sur- 
vives." It was not given to Cicero to stem the tide of 
imperialism, but the nature of his life, the dreams of a 
pure republic which he cherished, those aspirations 
have not utterly perished. All had now departed which 
had made life rich and dear to Cicero. He met his end 
with quiet courage. Plutarch has painted well that last 
scene. We see him 4 'with hair and beard disordered, 
and weary countenance, taking his chin in his left hand, 
with the old familiar gesture, and looking fixedly at his 
murderers." He was slain by the soldiers of Octavius 
near Formiae, when he had nearly completed his sixty- 
fourth year. Rome heard the news with ill-suppressed 
lamentation. With all his faults, he was an honorable 



xii 



LIFE OF CICERO, 



man, "who loved his country," as Augustus himself 
said in a moment of frankness and remorse. 

It will be conceded by those who know the character 
of Cicero best that public life did not suit him. The 
very reasons which made him an incomparable 
writer did not permit him to be a statesman. His fer- 
tile imagination rendered him hardly capable of con- 
nected plans. No greater master of composition and 
of the music of speech has ever come among us, His 
style has been the model of succeeding ages. His writ- 
ings are valuable not only as models of exquisite Latin, 
but they are rich in materials for a history of his time. 
They may be divided into the following subjects: I. 
Rhetorical works. Of these there were seven which 
have come down to us more or less complete. The 
best known of these is the " De Oratore," written at the 
request of his brother Quintus • it is the most perfect of 
his rhetorical works. II. The Philosophical Works. 
Under the head of Political Philosophy, we have the 
"De Republica" and "De Legibus," both of which are 
written in the form of a dialogue. A large portion of 
both works is preserved. His works, " De Officiis," 
"De Senectute," and " De Amicitia," may be classed 
as Philosophy of Morals. The most noted of his writ- 
ings, "De Finibus," or inquiry into " the chief good," 
and the "Tusculan Disputations" may come under the 
head of Speculative Philosophy. In the "De Natura 
Deorum " he gives an account of the speculations of the 
ancients concerning a divine Being — these are con- 
tinued in the " De Divinatione." III. Orations. Of 
these fifty-six have come down to us. IV. Epistles. 



LIFE OF CICERO. 



Xlll 



Cicero, during the most important period of his life, 
maintained a close correspondence with Atticus and 
with a wide circle of literary and political friends and 
connections. We now have upwards of eight hundred 
letters undoubtedly genuine, extending over a period 
of twenty-six years, and commonly arranged under 
"Epistolae ad Familiares s. ad Ad versos," "Ad Atti- 
cum" and "Ad Quintum Fratrem." In Cicero's es- 
says is to be found always a perfect withdrawal of him- 
self from the circumstances of the world around him; 
so that the reader is led to suppose that in the evening 
of his life, having reached at last, by means of work 
done for the State, a time of blessed rest, he gives forth 
the wisdom of his age, surrounded by all that a tranquil 
world can give. The man who, after nearly half a cen- 
tury of friendship, could write to his friend such an 
essay as "De Amicitia" cannot have been an unhappy 
man. There is not a precept taught in it which is not 
universal, belonging to all times and all places. 

Cicero no doubt was a pagan, but a pagan who could 
say of eternity: " There is certainly a place in heaven 
where the blessed shall enjoy eternal life*" of immor- 
tality — "Are we all of us so poor in spirit as to think 
that after toiling for our country and ourselves — 
though we have not had one moment of ease here upon 
earth— when we die all things shall die with us?" He 
said of virtue — " You shall put your hope neither in 
man's opinions nor in human rewards; but Virtue itself 
by her own charms shall lead you the way to glory." 
He thus tells us his idea of God's omnipotence: " This 
force they call the soul of the world, and looking on it 



xiv 



LIFE OF CICERO. 



as perfect in intelligence and wisdom, they name it 
their God." And again he says, speaking of God's 
care, "Who is there, when he thinks that a God is tak- 
ing care of him, shall not live day and night in awe of 
his divine majesty." As to man's duty to his neigh- 
bor, a subject on which people, before and since the 
time of Cicero, have not always had clear ideas, the 
treatise "De Officiis" is full of it, as indeed is the 
whole course of his life. "All duty which tends to 
protect the society of man with men is to be preferred 
to that of which science is the simple object." Thus 
we see this Roman, who lived so long ago, still teach- 
ing and delighting man with the truth, the " fountain 
of an energy that goes pulsing on with waves of benefit 
to the borders of society, to the circumference of 
things." 



DE AMIOITIA. 



Quintus Mucius, the augur, used to relate many- 
things of Caius Laelius, his father-in-law, from memory 
and in a pleasant manner, and did not scruple in every 
discourse to call him a wise man. Moreover, I myself, 
after assuming the manly toga, was introduced by my 
father to Scsevola, in such a way that, as far as I could 
and it was permitted me, I never quitted the old man's 
side. Accordingly, many sagacious discussions of his, 
and many short and apt sayings, I committed to mem- 
ory, and desired to become better informed by his wis- 
dom. When he died I betook myself to Scaevola, the 
pontiff, who is the only man in our country that I ven- 
ture to pronounce the most distinguished for talent and 
for integrity. But of him elsewhere. I now return to 
the augur. Among many other circumstances, I re- 
member that once being seated at home in his arm- 
chair (as was his custom), when I was in his company, 
and a very few of his intimate friends, he fell by 
chance upon that subject of discourse which at the time 
was in the mouth of nearly every one; for you of course 
remember Atticus, and the more so because you were 
very intimate with Publius Sulpicius (when he, as trib- 



6 



DE AMICITIA. 



une of the people, was estranged by a deadly hatred 
from Quintus Pompey, who was then consul, with 
whom up to that time he had lived on terms of the 
closest union and affection), how great was the surprise 
and even regret of the people. Accordingly, when 
Scaevola had incidentally mentioned that very subject, 
he laid before us the discourse of Lselius on Friendship, 
which had been addressed by the latter to himself and 
to the other son-in-law of Laelius, Caius Fannius, the 
son of Marcus, a few days after the death of Africanus. 
The opinions of that disquisition I committed to mem- 
ory, and in this book I have set them forth according 
to my own judgment. For I have introduced the indi- 
viduals as if actually speaking, lest " said I " and " said 
he" should be too frequently interposed; and that the 
dialogue might seem to be held by persons face to face. 
For when you were frequently urging me to write some- 
thing on the subject of friendship, it seemed to me a 
matter worthy as well of the consideration of all as of 
our intimacy. I have therefore willingly done so, that 
I might confer a benefit on many in consequence of 
your request. But as in the Cato Major, which was 
addressed to you. on the subject of old age, I have in- 
troduced Cato when an old man conversing, because 
there seemed no person better adapted to speak of that 
period of life than he, who had been an old man for so 
long a time, and in that old age had been pre-eminently 



CICERO. 



1 



prosperous; so when I heard from our ancestors that 
the attachment of Caius Laelius and Publius Scipio was 
especially worthy of record, the character of Laelius 
seemed to me a suitable one to deliver these very ob- 
servations on friendship which Scaevola remembered to 
have been spoken by him. Now this description of dis- 
courses, resting on the authority of men of old, and of 
those of high rank, seems, I know not on what princi- 
ple, to carry with it the greater weight. Accordingly, 
while I am reading my own writing, I am sometimes 
so much affected as to suppose that it is Cato, and not 
myself that is speaking. But as then I, an old man, 
wrote to you, who are an old man, on the subject of old 
age, so in this book I myself, a most sincere friend, 
have written to a friend on the subject of friendship. 
On that occasion Cato was the speaker, than whom 
there was no one at that time older or wiser. On this, 
Laelius, not only a wise man (for so he has been consid- 
dered), and one pre-eminent in reputation for friend- 
ship, speaks on that subject. I would w T ish you to 
withdraw your thoughts a little while from me, and 
fancy that Laelius himself is speaking. Caius Fannius 
and Quintus Mucius come to their father-in-law after 
the death of Africanus. With these the discourse be- 
gins. Laelius replies; and the whole of his dissertation 
regards friendship, which in reading you will discover 
for yourself. 



8 



DE AM1CITIA. 



Fannius. Such is the case, dear Laelius, nor was 
there ever a better or more distinguished man than 
Africanus. But you ought to consider that the eyes of 
all are now turned upon you, Laelius; you alone they 
both denominate and believe to be wise. This charac- 
ter was lately bestowed on M. Cato; we know that 
Lucius Atilius, among our fathers, was entitled a wise 
man; but each on a different and peculiar account; 
Atilius, because he was considered versed in the civil 
law; Cato, because he had experience in a variety of 
subjects; both in the senate and in the forum many in- 
stances are recorded either of his shrewd forethought 
or persevering action, or pointed reply; wherefore he 
already had, as it were, the surname of wise in his old 
age. While of you it is remarked that you are wise 
in a different sense, not only by nature and charac- 
ter, but further, by application and learning; and not 
as the vulgar, but as the learned designate a wise 
man, such as was none in all Greece. For as those 
who are called the seven wise men, persons who 
inquire into such things with great nicety, do not 
consider them in the class of wise men. We learn 
that at Athens there was one peculiarly so, and that 
he was even pronounced by the oracle of Apollo 
the wisest of men. This is the kind of wisdom 
they conceive to be in you, that you consider every 
thing connected with you to rest upon yourself, and 



CICERO. 



9 



consider the events of life as subordinate to virtue; 
therefore, they inquire of me (I believe of you also, 
Scsevola), in what manner you bear the death of Afri- 
canus. And the rather so, because on the last nones, 
when we had come into the gardens of Decius Brutus, 
the augur, for the purpose of discussion, as our practice 
is, you were not present; although you were accus- 
tomed most punctually to observe that day and that en- 
gagement. 

Sc^evola. It is true, many are inquiring, Caius 
Laelius, as has been asserted by Fannius. But for my 
part, I answer them according to what I have remarked, 
that you bear with patience the grief which you have 
suffered by the death of one who was at once a very 
distinguished man and a very dear friend; yet that you 
could not forbear being distressed, nor would that have 
been consistent with your feelings as a man. And with 
regard to your not having attended last nones at our as- 
sembly, ill-health was the cause, and not affliction. 

Ljslius. You certainly said what was right, Scae- 
vola, and agreeable to truth; for neither ought I to have 
absented myself through any inconvenience of mine 
from that duty which I have always fulfilled when I 
was well, nor by any chance do I conceive it can hap- 
pen to a man of firmness of character that any inter- 
ruption should take place in his duty. And as for you, 
Fannius, who say there is attributed to me so much 



10 



DE AMICITIA. 



merit, as I am neither conscious of nor lay claim to, 
you ax?t therein like a friend; but, as it seems to me, 
you do not form a right estimate of Cato, for either 
there never has been a wise man, which I rather think, 
or if there ever was one, he was the man. For (to 
omit other cases) consider how he endured the loss 
of his son. I remember the instance of Paullus, and 
witnessed that of Gallus; but theirs was in the case 
of children; but Cato's is that of a mature and re- 
spected man. Wherefore pause before you prefer to 
Cato, even him whom Apollo, as you say, pronounced 
the wisest of men: for the deeds of the one are praised, 
but only the sayings of the other. Concerning myself, 
however (for I would now address you both), entertain 
the following sentiments: 

Should I say that I am not distressed by the loss of 
Scipio, philosophers may determine with what propriety 
I should do so; but assuredly I should be guilty of false- 
hood. For I am distressed at being bereaved of such a 
friend, as no one, I consider, will ever be to me again, 
and, as I can confidently assert, no one ever was; but I 
am not destitute of a remedy. I comfort myself, and 
especially with this consolation, that I am free from that 
error by which most men, on the decease of friends, are 
wont to be tormented; for I feel that no evil has hap- 
pened to Scipio; it has befallen myself, if indeed it has 
happened to any. Now to be above measure distressed 



CICERO. 



11 



at one's own troubles, is characteristic of the man who 
loves not his friend, but himself. In truth, as far as he 
is concerned, who can deny that his end was glorious ? 
for unless he had chosen to wish for immortality, of 
which he had not the slightest thought, what did he fail 
to obtain which it was lawful for a man to wish for ? 
A man who, as soon as he grew up, by his transcendent 
merit far surpassed those sanguine hopes of his country- 
men which they had conceived regarding him when a 
mere boy, who never stood for the consulship, yet was 
made consul twice; on the first occasion before his time; 
on the second, at the proper age as regarded himself, 
though for the commonwealth almost too late; who, by 
overthrowing two cities, most hostile to our empire, put 
an end, not only to all present, but all future wars. 
What shall I say of his most engaging manners; of his 
dutiful conduct to his mother; his generosity to his 
sisters; his kindness to his friends; his uprightness toward 
all ? These are known to you: and how dear he was to 
the state, was displayed by its mourning at his death. 
How, therefore, could the accession of a few years have 
benefited such a man ? For although old age is not 
burdensome (as I recollect Cato asserted, in conversa- 
tion with myself and Scipio the year before he died), 
yet it takes away that freshness which Scipio even yet 
possessed. Wherefore his life was such that nothing 
Opuld be added to it, either in respect of good fortune 



12 



DE AMICITIA. 



or of glory: moreover, the very suddenness of his death 
took away the consciousness of it. On which kind of 
death it is difficult to pronounce: what men conjecture, 
you yourselves know. However, this we may assert 
with truth, that of the many most glorious and joyous 
days which P. Scipio witnessed in the course of his life, 
that day was the most glorious when, on the breaking 
up of the senate, he was escorted home in the evening 
by the conscript fathers, by the allies of the Roman 
people, and the Latins, the day before he died; so that 
from so high a position of dignity he may seem to have 
passed to the gods above rather than to those below. 
Nor do I agree with those who have lately begun to 
assert this opinion, that the soul also dies simultaneously 
with the body, and that all things are annihilated by death. 

The authority of the ancients has more weight with 
me, either that of our own ancestors, who paid such 
sacred honors to the dead which surely they w r ould not 
have done if they thought these honors did in no way 
affect them; or that of those who once lived in this 
country, and enlightened, by their institutions and in- 
structions, Magna Graecia (which now indeed is entirely 
destroyed, but then was flourishing) ; or of him who 
was pronounced by the oracle of Apollo to be the 
wisest of men, who did not say first one thing and then 
another, as is generally done, but always the same; 
namely, that the souls of men are divine, and that when 



CICERO. 



IS 



they have departed from the body, a return to heaven 
is opened to them, and the speediest to the most virtuous 
and just. Which same opinion was also held by Scipio; 
for he indeed, a very few days before his death, as if he 
had a presentiment of it, when Philus and Manilius were 
present, and many others, and you also, Scaevola, had 
gone with me, for three days descanted on the subject 
of government; of which discussion the last was almost 
entirely on the immortality of souls, which he said 
he had learned in sleep through a vision from Afri- 
canus. If this be the fact, that the spirit of the best 
man most easily flies away in death, as from the prison- 
house and chains of the body; whose passage to the 
gods can we conceive to have been readier than that of 
Scipio? Wherefore, to be afflicted at this his departure, I 
fear, would be the part rather of an envious person than 
of a friend. But if, on the other hand this be rather 
the truth, that the death of the soul and of the body is 
one and the same, and that no consciousness remains; as 
there is no advantage in death, so certainly there is no 
evil. For when consciousness is lost, it becomes the 
same as if he had never been born at all; yet, both we 
ourselves are glad, and this state as long as it shall exist, 
will rejoice that he was born. Wherefore (as I said 
above) with him indeed all ended well; with myself 
less happily; for it had been more equitable that, as I 
entered upon life first, I should likewise first depart 



14 



DK AMICITIA. 



from it. But yet I so enjoy the recollection of our 
friendship, that I seem to have lived happily because I 
lived with Scipio; with whom I had a common anxiety 
on public and private affairs, and with whom my life 
both at home and abroad was associated, and there ex- 
isted that, wherein consists the entire strength of friend- 
ship, an entire agreement of inclinations, pursuits and 
sentiments. That character for wisdom, therefore, 
which Fannius a little while ago mentioned, does not so 
delight me, especially since it is undeserved, as the hope 
that the recollection of our friendship will last forever. 
And it is the more gratifying to me, because scarcely in 
the history of the world are three or four pairs of friends 
mentioned by name; and I indulge in the hope that the 
friendship of Scipio and Lsslius will be known to pos- 
terity in this class. 

Fannius. Indeed, Laelius, that must be so. But since 
you have made mention of friendship, and as we have 
leisure, you will do what is very agreeable to me (I hope 
also to Scaevola), if, as your custom is concerning other 
matters when your opinion of them is asked, so you would 
descant on friendship, [telling us] what is your opinion, 
of what nature you consider it to be, and what direction 
you would lay down. 

Scaevola. To me it will be exceedingly agreeable; 
and in fact, when I was endeavoring to prevail with 
you, Fannius anticipated me; wherefore, you will confer 
a very great favor on both of us. 



CICERO. 



15 



LuELius. I indeed should not object, if I could feel 
confidence in myself; for not only is the subject a 
splendid one, but we, as Fannius said, have nothing to 
do. But who am I ? or what ability is there in me for 
this? This is the practice of scholars, and of Grecian 
scholars, that a subject be given them on which they 
are to dispute, however suddenly. It is a great under- 
taking, and requires no little practice. Wherefore, as 
to what may be said on the subject of friendship, I 
recommend you to seek it from those who profess such 
things. I can only urge you to prefer friendship to all 
human possessions; for there is nothing so suited to our 
nature, so well adapted to prosperity or adversity. But 
first of all, I am of opinion, that except among the vir- 
tuous, friendship can not exist; I do not analyze this 
principle too closely, as they do who inquire with too 
great nicety into those things, perhaps, with truth on 
their side, but with little general advantage; for they 
maintain that there is no good man but the wise man. 
Be it so; yet they define wisdom to be such as no mortal 
has ever attained to; whereas, we ought to contem- 
plate those things which exist in practice and in common 
life, and not the subjects of fictions or of our own wishes. 
I would never pretend to say that Caius Fabricius, 
Marius Curius, and Titus Coruncanius, whom our an- 
cestors esteemed wise, were wise according to the stan- 
dard of these moralists. Wherefore let them keep to 



16 



DE AMICITIA. 



themselves the name of wisdom, both invidious and un- 
intelligible; and let them allow that these were good 
men — nay, they will not even do that; they will declare 
that this can not be granted except to a wise man. Let 
us therefore proceed with 1 ' all our dull genius, as they 
say. Those who so conduct themselves, and so live that 
their honor, their integrity, their justice, and liberality 
are approved; so that there is not in them any covetous- 
ness, or licentiousness, or boldness; and that they are of 
great consistency, as those men whom I have mentioned 
above; — let us consider these worthy of the appellation 
of good men, as they have been accounted such, because 
they follow (as far as men are able) nature, w r hich is the 
best guide of a good life. For I seem to myself to have 
this view, that we are so formed by nature, that there 
should be a certain social tie among all; stronger, however, 
as each approaches nearer to us. Accordingly, citizens 
are preferable to foreigners, and relations to strangers; 
for with the latter, nature herself has created a friendly 
feeling,though this has not sufficient strength. For in 
this respect friendship is superior to relationship, be- 
cause from relationship benevolence can be withdrawn, 
and from friendship it can not; for with the withdrawal 
of benevolence the very name of friendship is done 
away, while that of relationship remains. Now how 
great the power of friendship is, may be best gathered 
from this consideration, that out of the boundless society 



CICERO 



17 



of the human race, which nature herself has joined to- 
gether, friendship is a matter so contracted, and brought 
into so narrow a compass, that the whole of affection is 
confined to two, or at any rate to very few. 

Now friendship is nothing else than a complete union 
of feeling on all subjects, divine and human, accompa- 
nied by kindly feeling and attachment; than which, in- 
deed, I am hot aware whether, with the exception of 
wisdom, any thing better has been bestowed on man by 
the immortal gods. Some men prefer riches, others 
good health, others influence; others again honors, 
many prefer even pleasures; the last, indeed, is the 
characteristic of beasts; while the former are fleeting 
and uncertain, depending not so much on our own pur- 
pose as on the fickleness of fortune. Whereas those 
who place the supreme good in virtue, therein do ad- 
mirably; but this very virtue itself both begets and con- 
stitutes friendship; nor without this virtue can friend- 
ship exist at all. Now let us define this virtue accord- 
ing to the usage of life, and of our common language, 
and let us not measure it, as certain learned persons do, 
by pomp of language; and let us include among the 
good those who are so accounted — the Paulli, the Catos, 
thfe Galli, the Scipios, and the Phili; with these men 
ordinary life is content; and let us pass over those who 
are nowhere found to exist. Among men of this kind, 
therefore, friendship finds facilities so great that I can 



18 



DE AMICIfiA 



scarcely describe them. In the first place — to whom 
can life be " worth living," as Ennius says, who does 
not repose on the mutual kind feeling of some friend? 
What can be more delightful than to have one to whom 
you can speak on all subjects just as to yourself? 
Where would be the great enjoyment in prosperity if 
you had not one to rejoice in it equally with yourself? 
And adversity would indeed be difficult to endure with- 
out some one who would bear it even with greater regret 
than yourself. In short, all other objects that are 
sought after are severally suited to some one single 
purpose; riches, that you may spend them; power, that 
you may be courted; honors, that you may be extolled; 
pleasures, that you may enjoy them; good health, that 
you may be exempt from harm, and perform the func- 
tions of the body. Whereas friendship comprises the 
greatest number of objects possible; wherever you turn 
yourself, it is at hand; shut out of no place, never out 
of season, never irksome; and therefore we do not use 
fire and water, as they say, on more occasions than we 
do friendship. And I am not now speaking of com- 
mon-place or ordinary friendship (though even that 
brings delight and benefit), but of real and true friend- 
ship, such as belonged to those of whom very few are 
recorded; for prosperity friendship renders more bril- 
liant, and adversity more supportable, by dividing and 
communicating it. 



CICERO 



19 



And while friendship embraces very many and great 
advantages, she undoubtedly surpasses all in this, that 
she shines with a brilliant hope over the future, and 
never suffers the spirit to be weakened or to sink. Be- 
sides, he who looks on a true friend looks, as it were, 
upon a kind of image of himself; wherefore friends, 
though absent, are still present; though in poverty, they 
are rich; though weak, yet in the enjoyment of health; 
and, what is still more difficult to assert, though dead, 
they are alive; so entirely does the honor, the memory, 
the regret of friends attend them; from which circum- 
stance the death of the one seems to be happy, and the 
life of the other praiseworthy; nay, should you remove 
from nature the cement of kind feelings, neither a house 
nor a city will be able to stand; even the cultivation of 
the land will not continue. If it be not clearly per- 
ceived how great is the power of friendship and con- 
cord, it can be distinctly inferred from quarrels and 
dissensions; for what house is there so established, or 
what state so firmly settled, that may not utterly be 
overthrown by hatred and dissension? From which it 
may be determined how much advantage there is in 
friendship. They relate, indeed, that a certain learned 
man of Agrigentum promulgated in Greek verses the 
doctrine that all things which cohere throughout the 
whole world, and all things that are the subjects of mo- 
tion, are brought together by friendship, and are dis- 



20 



DE AMICITIA 



pelled by discord; and this principle all men under- 
stand and illustrate by their conduct. Therefore, if at 
any time any act of a friend has been exhibited, either 
in undergoing or in sharing dangers, who is there that 
does not extol such an act with the highest praise? 
What shouts of applause were lately heard through the 
whole theater on the occasion of a new play by my 
guest and friend, Marcus Pacuvius, when the king, be- 
ing ignorant which of them was Orestes, Pylades said 
he was Orestes, that he might be put to death instead 
of him; but Orestes, as was the fact, solemnly main- 
tained that he was the man? They stood up and ap- 
plauded in an imaginary case; what must we suppose 
they would have done in a real one? Nature herself 
excellently asserted her rightful power when men pro- 
nounced that to be rightly done in another, which they 
could not do themselves. Thus far I seem to have been 
able to lay down what are my sentiments concerning 
friendship. If anything remains (and I fancy there is 
much), ask of those, if you please, who practice such 
discussions. 

Fannius. But we would rather hear it from you, 
although I have often asked such questions, and heard 
their opinions, and that not without satisfaction, yet 
what we desire is the somewhat different thread of your 
discourse. 

Scjevola. You would say so still more, Fannius, if 



CICERO 



2 1 



you had been present lately in the gardens of Scipio, 
when the subject of Government was discussed. What 
an able pleader was he then on the side of justice 
against the subtle argument of Philus! 

Fannius. Nay, it was an easy task for the most just 
of men to uphold the cause of justice. 

Sc^evola. What shall we say then of friendship? 
Would it not be easy for him to eulogize it, who, for 
maintaining it with the utmost fidelity, steadiness, and 
integrity, has gained the highest glory? 

L^elius. Why, this is using force against one: for 
what matters it by what kind of request you compel me? 
You, certainly do compel me. For to oppose the wishes 
of one's sons-in-law, especially in a good matter, is not 
only hard, but it is not even just. After very often, 
then, reflecting on the subject of friendship, this ques- 
tion seems to me especially worthy of consideration, 
whether friendship has become an object of desire, on 
account of weakness or want, so that by giving and re- 
ceiving favors, each may receive from another, and 
mutually repay, what he is himself incapable of acquir- 
ing. Or whether this is only a property of friendship; 
while there is another cause, higher and nobler and more 
directly derived from nature herself. For love (from 
which friendship takes its name) is the main motive for 
the union of kind feelings: for advantages truly are 
often derived from those who are courted under a pre- 



22 



DE AMIC1TIA 



tense of friendship, and have attention paid them for a 
temporary purpose. In friendship there is nothing false, 
and nothing pretended; and whatever belongs to it is 
sincere and spontaneous. Wherefore friendship seems 
to me to have sprung rather from nature than from a 
sense of want, and more from an attachment of the mind 
with a certain feeling of affection, than from a calcula- 
tion how much advantage it would afford. And of what 
nature indeed it is, may be observed in the case of cer- 
tain beasts; for they love their off spring up to a certain 
time, and are loved by them in such a way that their 
emotions are easily discovered. And this is much more 
evident in man. In the first place, from that affection 
which subsists between children and parents, which can 
not be destroyed without detestable wickedness: next, 
where a similar feeling of love has existed, if we have 
met with any one with whose character and disposition 
we sympathize, because we appear to discover in him a 
certain effulgence as it were of integrity and virtue. 
For nothing is more amiable than virtue, nothing which 
more strongly allures us to love it, seeing that because 
of their virtue and integrity we can in a certain degree 
love those whom we have never seen. Who can mention 
the name of Caius Fabricius, and Marius Curius, other- 
wise than with love and affection, though he never saw 
them? Who can forbear hating Tarquinius Superbus, 
Spurius Cassius, and Spurius Maalius? Against two 



CICERO 



28 



generals we had a struggle for empire in Italy, I mean 
Pyrrhus and Hannibal; toward the former, on account 
of his honorable conduct, we bear not a very hostile 
disposition; while this state will always detest the latter 
for his cruelty. 

Now if such be the influence of integrity, that we love 
it even in those whom we have never seen, and, what is 
much more, even in an enemy, what wonder if men's 
feelings are affected when they seem to discover the 
goodness and virtue of those with whom they may be- 
come connected by intercourse? although love is con- 
firmed by the reception of kindness, and by the dis- 
covery of an earnest sympathy, and by close familiarity; 
which things being added to the first emotion of the 
mind and the affections, there is kindled a large amount 
of kindly feeling. And if any imagine that this pro- 
ceeds from a sense of weakness, so that there shall be 
secured a friend, by whom a man may obtain that which 
he wants, they leave to friendship a mean indeed, and, 
if I may so speak, any thing but respectable origin, 
when they make her to be born of indigence and want; 
were this the case, then in proportion as a man judged 
that there were the least resources in himself, precisely 
in that degree would he be best qualified for friendship; 
whereas the fact is far otherwise. For just as a man 
has most confidence in himself, and as he is most com- 
pletely fortified by worth and wisdom, so that he needs 



24 



DE AMICITIA 



no one's assistance, and feels that all his resources reside 
in himself; in the same proportion he is most highly dis- 
tinguished for seeking out and forming friendships. 
For what did Africanus want of me? nothing whatever; 
nor indeed did I need aught from him: but I loved him 
from admiration of his excellence; he in turn perhaps 
was attached to me from some high opinion which he 
entertained of my character, and association fostered our 
affection. But although many and great advantages en- 
sued, yet it was not from any hope of these that the 
cause of our attachment sprang; for as we are beneficent 
and liberal, not to exact favor in return (for we are not 
usurers in kind actions), but by nature are inclined to 
liberality, thus I think that friendship is to be desired, 
not attracted by the hope of reward, but because the 
whole of its profit consists in love only. From such 
opinions, they who, after the fashion of beasts, refer 
everything to pleasure, widely differ: and no great 
wonder, since they cannot look up to any thing lofty, 
magnificent, or divine, who cast all their thoughts on an 
object so mean and contemptible. Therefore let us ex- 
clude such persons altogether from our discourse; and 
let us ourselves hold this opinion, that the sentiment of 
loving, and the attachment of kind feelings, are produced 
by nature, when the evidence of virtue has been estab- 
lished; and they who have eagerly sought the latter, draw 
nigh and attach themselves to it, that they may enjoy 



CICERO 



25 



the friendship and character of the individual they have 
begun to love, and that they may be commensurate and 
equal in affection, and more inclined to confer a favor 
than to claim any return. And let this honorable strug- 
gle be maintained between them: so not only will the 
greatest advantages be derived from friendship, but its 
origin from nature rather than from a sense of weakness, 
will be at once more impressive and more true. For if 
it were expediency that cemented friendships, the same 
when changed would dissolve them; but because nature 
can never change, therefore true friendships are eternal. 
Thus you see the origin of friendship, unless you wish 
to make some reply to these views. 

Fannius. Nay, go on, Lselius, for I answer for 
Scsevola here (who is my junior) on my own authority. 

Sc^evola. You do right; wherefore let us attend. 

L^elius. Listen, then, my excellent friends, to the 
discussion which was very frequently held by me and 
Scipio on the subject of friendship; although he indeed 
used to say that nothing was more difficult than that 
friendship should continue to the end of life; for it often 
happened, either that the same course was not expedient 
to both parties, or that they held different views of poli- 
tics: he also remarked that the characters of men often 
changed; in some cases by adversity, in others by old 
age becoming oppressive; and he derived an authority 
for such notions from a comparison with early life, be- 



26 



DE AMICITIA 



cause the strongest attachments of boys are constantly 
laid aside with the praetexta; even if they should main- 
tain it to manhood, yet sometimes it is broken off by 
rivalry, for a dowried wife, or some other advantage, 
which they cannot both attain. And even if men should 
be carried on still further in their friendship, yet that 
feeling is often undermined, should they fall into rivalry 
for preferments; for there is no greater enemy to friend- 
ship than covetousness of money, in most men, and even 
in the best, an emulous desire of high offices and glory; 
in consequence of which the most bitter enmities have 
often arisen between the dearest friends. For great 
dissensions, and those inmost instances, justifiable, arise, 
when some request is made of friends w r hich is improper; 
as, for instance, that they should become either the 
ministers of their lust or their supporters in the perpe- 
tration of wrong; and they w-ho refuse to do so, it mat- 
ters not however virtuously, yet are accused of discard- 
ing the claims of friendship by those persons whom they 
are unwilling to oblige; but they who dare to ask any 
thing of a friend, by their very request seem to imply 
that they would do any thing for the sake of that friend; 
by the complaining of such persons, not only are long- 
established intimacies put an end to, but endless ani- 
mosities are engendered. All these many causes, like 
so many fatalities, are ever threatening friendship, so 



CICERO 



27 



that he said, to escape them all, seemed to him a proof 
not merely of wisdom, but even of good fortune. 

Wherefore let us first consider if you please, how for 
love ought to proceed in friendship. If Coriolanus had 
friends, were they bound to carry arms against their 
country with Coriolanus? Were their friends bound to 
support Viscellinus or Spurius Mselius when they aimed 
at the sovereignty? Nay, in the case of Tiberius Grac- 
chus, when disturbing the commonwealth, we saw him 
totally abandoned by Quintus Tubero, and other friends 
of his own standing. But in the case of Caius Blossius, 
of Cumae, the friend of our family, Scaevola, when he 
had come to me (then attending upon the consuls Laenas 
and Rupilius in their council) to sue for pardon, he 
brought forward his plea, that he esteemed Tiberius 
Gracchus so highly that he thought it his duty to do 
whatever he wished. So I said, " What, even if he 
wished you to set fire to the capitol?" "He never 
would have thought of that," he replied. " But if he 
had?" " Then I would have complied." You see what 
an abominable speech: and by Hercules, he did so, and 
even worse than he said; for he did not follow the mad 
schemes of Tiberius Gracchus, but in fact headed them, 
and did not act as the accomplice of his violence, but 
even as the captain. Therefore in consequence of such 
rashness, being terrified by a new prosecution, he fled 
precipitately into Asia, joined the enemy, and atoned 



28 



DE AMICITIA 



to the commonwealth by a punishment just and severe. 
It is no excuse therefore for a fault, that you committed 
it for a friend's sake; for since the belief in another's 
excellence was that which conciliated friendship, it is 
hard for friendship to continue when you have aposta- 
tized from virtue. Now if we shall lay it down as right, 
either to concede to friends whatever they wish, or to 
obtain from them whatever we wish, we must have in- 
deed consummate wisdom, if such a course leads to no 
vice. But we are speaking of those friends who are 
before our eyes, whom we see around us, or else whom 
we know by report, and with whom every-day life is 
familiar; from that class we must take our instances, 
and above all, from those who make the nearest ap- 
proaches to wisdom. We see that Papus iEmilius was 
the intimate friend of Caius Lucinus (so we have learned 
from our fathers); that they were twice consuls to- 
gether, and colleagues in the censorship; and that at 
the same time Marcus Curius and Titus Coruncanius were 
most intimate with them and with each other, is a mat- 
ter of history, and therefore we can not even suspect 
that any one of these ever asked his friend anything that 
was contrary to their honor, their oath, and the interest 
of the state: for what reason is there for making such 
a remark about men like them? I am convinced had 
any of them made the request he would not have ob- 
tained it, for they were men of the purest principle; be- 



CICERO 



29 



sides, it would be equally as wrong to agree to any such 
request when made, as to make it. And yet Caius Carbo 
and Caius Cato both took the part of Tiberius Grac- 
chus, as did his brother Caius, at that time by no means 
an agitator, but now one of the most violent. 

Let this law therefore be established in friendship, 
viz., that we should neither ask things that are improper 
nor grant them when asked; for it is a disgraceful apol- 
ogy, and by no means to be admitted, as well in the 
case of other offenses, as when any one avows he has 
acted against the state for the sake of a friend. For 
we are placed, O Fannius and Scsevola, in such a posi- 
tion that we ought to see from a distance the future 
calamities of the commonwealth; for the practice of our 
ancestors has already in some respect swerved from rts 
career and course. Tiberius Gracchus has endeavored 
to obtain the sovereignty, or rather he reigned for a few 
months. Had the Roman people ever heard or wit- 
nessed anything similar? Even after his death his 
friends and relations maintained his cause; and what 
malice they exercised against Publius Scipio I can not 
relate without tears; for, owing to the recent punish- 
ment of Tiberius Gracchus, we withstood Carbo by 
whatever means we could. And concerning the tribune- 
ship of Caius Gracchus, what we have to expect I have 
no disposition to anticipate; still the movement is 
creeping on, and when once it has begun, it rushes with 



30 



DE AMICITIA 



increasing precipitation to destruction; for already you 
have seen, with regard to the ballot, what great mis- 
chief has been caused — first, by the Gabinian law, and 
two years after by the Cassian; for already I fancy I 
see the people separated from the senate, and the most 
important measures carried at the caprice of the mob; 
far more people will learn how such things may be done 
than how they may be resisted. Wherefore do I say 
this? Because without allies no one attempts any thing 
of the kind; therefore this should be pressed on all 
good men, that if inadvertently they should have fallen 
unawares into friendships of that character, they must 
think themselves bound in such a manner that they 
must not desert their friends when doing wrong in any 
important matter; at the same time, punishment should 
be enacted against the wicked; and not less severe for 
those who have followed another than for those who 
have been themselves the leaders of the wickedness. 
Who was more illustrious in Greece than Themistocles? 
Who more powerful? And when he, as general in the 
Persian war, had freed Greece from slavery, and through 
unpopularity had been driven into exile, he could not 
endure the injustice of his ungrateful country, which 
he ought to have borne. He acted the same part as 
Coriolanus had done among us twenty years before. 
No one was found to support these men against their 
country; accordingly, they both committed suicide. 



CICERO 



31 



Wherefore such a combination with wicked men not 
only must not be sheltered under the excuse of friend- 
ship, but should rather be visited with every kind of 
punishments; so that no one may think it permitted to 
him to follow a friend, even when waging war against 
his country. And as matters have begun to proceed, I 
know not whether that will not some day occur. To 
me, however, it is no less a cause' of anxiety in what 
state the republic shall be after my death than in what 
state it is at this day. 

Let this, therefore, be established as a primary law 
concerning friendship, that we expect from our friends 
only what is honorable, and for our friends' sake do 
what is honorable; that we should not wait till we are 
asked; that zeal be ever ready, and reluctance far from 
us; but that we take pleasure in freely giving our advice; 
that in our friendship the influence of our friends, when 
they give good advice, should have great weight; and that 
this be employed to admonish not only candidly, but 
even severely, if the case shall require, and that we give 
heed to it when so employed; for, as to certain persons, 
whom I understand to have been esteemed wise men in 
Greece, I am of opinion that some strange notions were 
entertained by them; but there is nothing which they 
do not follow up with too great subtlety; among the 
rest, that excessive friendships should be avoided, lest 
it should be necessary for one to feel anxiety for many; 



32 



DE AMICITIA 



that every one has enough, and more than enough, of 
his own affairs; that to be needlessly implicated in those 
of other people is vexatious; that it was most con- 
venient to hold the reins of friendship as loose as pos- 
sible, so as either to tighten or slacken them when you 
please: for they argue that the main point toward a 
happy life is freedom from care, which the mind can 
not enjoy if one man be, as it were, in travail for oth- 
ers. Nay, they tell us that some are accustomed to 
declare, still more unfeelingly (a topic which I have 
briefly touched upon just above), that friendships 
should be cultivated for the purpose of protection and 
assistance, and not for kind feeling or affection; and 
therefore the less a man possesses of independence and 
of strength, in the same degree he most earnestly de- 
sires friendships; that thence it arises that women seek 
the support of friendship more than men, and the poor 
more than the rich, and persons in distress rather than 
those who are considered prosperous. Admirable phil- 
osophy! for they seem to take away the sun from the 
world who withdraw friendship from life; for we re- 
ceive nothing better from the immortal gods, nothing 
more delightful; for what is this freedom from care? 
• — in appearances, indeed, flattering; but, in many cases 
in reality to be disdained. Nor is it reasonable to re- 
fuse to undertake any honorable matter or action lest 
you should be anxious, or to lay it aside when under- 



CICERO 



33 



taken; for if we fly from care, we must fly from virtue 
also; for it is impossible that she can, without some de- 
gree of distress, feel contempt and detestation for qual- 
ities opposed to herself; just as kind-heartedness for 
malice, temperance for profligacy, and bravery for 
cowardice. Accordingly, you see that upright men are 
most distressed by unjust actions; the brave with the 
cowardly; the virtuous with the profligate; and, there- 
fore, this is the characteristic of a well-regulated mind, 
both to be well pleased with what is excellent, and to 
be distressed with what is contrary. Wherefore, if 
trouble of mind befall a wise man (and assuredly it 
will, unless we suppose that all humanity is extirpated 
from his mind), what reason is there why we should 
altogether remove friendship from life, lest because of 
it we should take upon ourselves some troubles? for what 
difference is there (setting the emotions of the mind 
aside), I do not say between a man and a beast, but be- 
tween a man and a stone, or log, or anything of that 
kind? For they do not deserve to be listened to, who 
would have virtue to be callous, and made of iron, as it 
were; which indeed is, as in other matters, so in friend- 
ship also, tender and susceptible; so that friends are 
loosened, as it were, by happy events, and drawn to- 
gether by distresses. 

Wherefore the anxiety which has often to be felt for 
a friend, is not of such force that it should remove 



34 



DE AMICITIA 



friendship from the world, any more than that the vir- 
tues, because they bring with them certain cares and 
troubles, should therefore be discarded. For when it 
produces friendship (as I said above), should any indi- 
cation of virtue shine forth, to which a congenial mind 
may attach and unite itself — when this happens, affec- 
tion must necessarily arise. For what is so unmeaning 
as to take delight in many vain things, such as prefer- 
ments, glory, magnificent buildings, clothing and adorn- 
ment of the body; and not to take an extreme delight 
in a soul endued with virtue, in such a soul as can either 
love, or (so to speak) love in return? for there is noth- 
ing more delightful than the repayment of kindness, 
and the interchange of devotedness and good offices. 
Now, if we add this, which may with propriety be added, 
that there is nothing which so allures and draws any 
object to itself as congeniality does friendship; it will, 
of course, be admitted as true that the good must love 
the good, and unite then! to themselves, just as if con- 
nected by relationship and nature; for nothing is more 
apt to seek and seize on its like than nature. Where- 
fore this certainly is clear, Fannius and Scaevola, (in my 
opinion), that among the good a liking for the good is, 
as it were, inevitable ; and this indeed is appointed by 
nature herself as the very fountain of friendship. But 
the same kind disposition belongs also to the multitude; 
for virtue is not inhuman, or cruel, or haughty, since 



CICERO 



35 



she is accustomed to protect even whole nations, and to 
adopt the best measures for their welfare, which assur- 
edly she would not do did she shrink from the affection 
of the vulgar. And to myself, indeed, those who form 
friendships with a view to advantage, seem to do away 
with its most endearing bond; for it is not so much 
the advantage obtained through a friend as the mere 
love of that friend, which delights; and then only what 
has proceeded from a friend becomes delightful if it 
has proceeded from zealous affection; and that friend- 
ship should be cultivated from a sense of necessity, is 
so far from being the case that those who, being en- 
dowed with power and wealth, and especially with vir- 
tue (in which is the strongest support of friendship), 
have least need of another, are most liberal and gen- 
erous. Yet I am not sure whether it is requisite that 
friends should never stand in any need; for wherein 
would any devotedness of mine to him have been ex- 
erted if Scipio had never stood in need of my advice or 
assistance at home or abroad? Wherefore friendship 
has not followed upon advantage, but advantage on 
friendship. 

Persons, therefore, who are wallowing in indulgence, 
will not need to be listened to if ever they shall descant 
upon friendship, which they have known neither by ex- 
perience nor by th eory. For who is there, by the faith 
of gods and men, who would desire, on the condition of 



36 



DE AMICITIA 



his loving no one, and himself being loved by none, to 
roll in affluence, and live in a superfluity of all things? 
For this is the life of tyrants, in which undoubtedly 
there can be no confidence, no affection, no steady de- 
pendence on attachment; all is perpetually mistrust and 
disquietude — there is no room for friendship. For who 
can love either him whom he fears, or him by whom he 
thinks he himself is feared? Yet are they courted, solely 
in hypocrisy, for a time; because, if perchance (as it 
frequently happens) they have been brought low, then 
it is perceived how destitute they were of friends. And 
this, they say, Tarquin expressed; that when going into 
exile, he found out whom he had as faithful friends, 
and whom unfaithful ones, since then he could no longer 
show gratitude to either party; although I wonder that, 
with such haughtiness and impatience of temper, he 
could find one at all. And as the character of the in- 
dividual whom I have mentioned could not obtain true 
friends, so the riches of many men of rank exclude all 
faithful friendship; for not only is fortune blind her- 
self, but she commonly renders blind those whom she 
embraces. Accordingly, such persons are commonly 
puffed up with pride and insolence, nor can any thing 
be found more intolerable than a fortunate fool. And 
thus, indeed, one may observe, that those who before 
were of agreeable character, by military command, by 
preferment, by prosperity, are changed, and old friend- 



CICERO 



37 



ships are despised by them, and new ones cherished. 
For what can be more foolish than, when men are pos- 
sessed of great influence by their wealth, power, and 
resources, to procure other things which are procured 
by money — horses, slaves, rich apparel, costly vases — 
and not to procure friends, the most valuable and fairest 
furniture of life, if I may so speak; for while they are 
procuring those things, they know not for whom they 
are procuring them, nor for whose sake they are labor- 
ing. For every one of these things belongs to him who 
is most powerful, whereas the possession of his friend- 
ships is preserved to every one steadfast and secure; so 
that if those things are preserved which are, as it were, 
the gifts of fortune, yet a life unadorned and abandoned 
by friends can not possibly be happy. But on this head 
enough. 

But it is required to lay down what limits there are 
in friendship, and, as it were, what bounds of loving, 
concerning which I see three opinions held, of none of 
which I approve: — the first that we should be affected 
toward a friend in the same manner as toward ourselves; 
the second, that our good-will toward our friends should 
exactly and equally answer to their good-will toward us; 
the third, that at whatever value a man sets himself, at 
the same he should be estimated by his friends. To 
none of these three opinions do I entirely assent. For 
the first one is not true, that as a man feels toward him- 



38 



DE AMICITIA 



self so he should be disposed toward his friend. For 
how many things, which for our own sake we should 
never do, do we perform for the sake of our friends? 
To ask favors of unworthy persons, to supplicate them, 
to inveigh bitterly against any one, and to accuse him 
with great vehemence, which in our own cases cannot 
be done creditably, in the case of our friends are most 
honorably done; and there are many cases in w r hich 
good men subtract many things from their own interests, 
or allow them to be subtracted, that their friends, rather 
than themselves, may enjoy them. The second opinion 
is that which limits friendship to an equality of kind 
actions and kind wishes; this is indeed to reduce friend- 
ship to figures too minutely and penuriously, so that 
there may be a balance of received and paid. True 
friendship seems to be far too rich and affluent for that, 
and not to observe, narrowly, lest it should pay more 
than it receives: nor need it be feared lest any thing 
should be lost or fall to the ground, or lest more than 
what is fair should be accumulated on the side of friend- 
ship. But the third limitation is most detestable, that 
at whatever value a man sets on himself, at that value 
he should be estimated by his friends; for often, in cer- 
tain persons, either their spirit is too humble, or their 
hope of improving their condition too desponding; it is 
not, therefore, the part of a friend to be toward him 
what he is to himself; but rather to use every effort, and 



CICERO 



30 



to contrive to cheer the prostrate spirit of his friend, 
and to encourage better hopes and thoughts. There- 
fore, I must lay down some other limit of true friend- 
ship, as soon as I shall have stated what Scipio was ac- 
customed, above all things, to reprehend. He used to 
declare that no speech could be found more hostile to 
friendship, than his who had said that a man ought so 
to love as if one day he would come to hate. Nor, in- 
deed, could he be induced to believe that this, as was 
supposed, was said by Bias, who was considered one of 
the seven wise men; but that it was the opinion of some 
wicked or ambitious man, or one who sought to bring 
everything under his own power. For in what manner 
can any one be a friend to him to whom he thinks he 
may possibly become an enemy? Moreover it will fol- 
low that he desires and wishes his friend to do wrong 
as often as possible, that he may afford him, as it were, 
so many handles for reproach. And, again, at the right 
conduct and advantage of his friends he will necessarily 
be tormented, grieved; and jealous. Wherefore this 
precept, to whomsoever it belongs, is powerful only for 
the destruction of friendship. This, rather, should have 
been the precept, that we should employ such careful- 
ness in forming our friendships, that we should not any 
time begin to love the man whom we could ever possi- 
bly hate. Moreover, if we have been but unfortunate 
in our selection, Scipio was of opinion that this should 



40 



DE AMICITIA 



be submitted to, rather than that a time of alienation 
should ever be contemplated. 

I think, therefore, we must adopt these limitations, 
that when the character of friends is correct, then there 
should be a community between them of all things, of 
purpose and of will, without any exception; so that, 
even if by any chance it has happened that the less 
honorable wishes of our friends have to be forwarded, 
in which either their life is concerned, or their reputa- 
tion, then you may decline a little from the straight 
path, provided only extreme infamy do not follow; for 
there is a point to which indulgence may be granted to 
friendship; yet reputation must not be disregarded; nor 
ought we to esteem the good-will of our fellow-country- 
men as an engine of small value in the administration of 
the state, although to seek it by fawning and flattering 
is mean indeed; yet virtue, on which affection is con- 
sequent, should by no means be rej ected. But frequently 
(for I return to Scipio, the whole of whose discourse 
was concerning friendship) he Used to complain, that 
in all other things men were comparatively careful; so 
that every man could tell how many goats or how many 
sheep he possessed, yet how many friends he had he 
could not tell; and in procuring the former, men em- 
ployed carefulness, while in selecting their friends they 
were negligent, nor had they, as it were, any signs or 
marks by which they determined who were suited for 



CICERO 



41 



friendship. The steadfast, then, and the steady, and 
the consistent, are to be selected, of which class of 
persons there is a great scarcity; and, in truth, it is 
difficult for any one to judge, unless after he is experi- 
enced. Now the trial must be made in actual friend- 
ship; thus friendship outstrips judgment, and removes 
the power of making experiments. It is the part, 
therefore, of a prudent man, to check the impetus of 
his kindly feeling as he would his chariot, that we may 
have our friendships, like our horses, fully proved, 
when the character of our friends has been in some 
measure tested. Of some, it is often discovered in 
small sums of money how void of worth they are. 
Some, whom a small sum of money could not influence, 
are discovered in the case of a large one. But, even if 
some shall be found who think it sordid to prefer 
money to friendship, where should we find those who 
do not place above friendship high dignities, magistra- 
cies, military command, civil authorities and influ- 
ence? so that, when on the one side these objects have 
been proposed, and the claim of friendship on the 
other, they would not far prefer the former. For na- 
ture is too weak to despise the possession of power; for, 
even if they have attained it by the slighting of friend- 
ship, they think the act will be thrown into the shade, 
because friendship was not overlooked without strong 
grounds. Therefore real friendships are found with 



42 



DE AMICITIA 



most difficulty among those who are invested with high 
offices, or in business of the state. For where can you 
find the man who would prefer his friend's advance- 
ment to his own? And why? For to pass over these 
matters, how grievous, how impracticable to most men, 
does participation in afflictions appear! to which it is 
not easy to find the man who will descend. Although 
Ennius truly says, 6 6 A sure friend is discerned in an 
unsure matter," yet these two charges of inconstancy 
and of weakness condemn most men; either in their 
prosperity they despise a friend, or in his troubles they 
desert him. 

He who, therefore, shall have shown himself in both 
cases as regards friendship, worthy, consistent and 
steadfast, such a one we ought to esteem of a class of 
persons extremely rare, nay, almost godlike. Now, the 
foundation of that steadfastness and constancy, which 
we seek in friendship, is sincerity. For nothing is 
steadfast which is insincere. Besides, it is right that 
one should be chosen who is frank and good-natured, 
and congenial in his sentiments; one ? in fact, who is 
influenced by the same motives; all which qualities 
have a tendency to create sincerity. For it is impossi- 
ble for a wily and tortuous disposition to be sincere. 
Nor in truth can the man who has no sympathy from 
nature, and who is not moved by the same considera- 
tions, be either attached or steady. To the same requi- 



CICERO 



43 



sites must be added that he shall neither take delight in 
bringing forward charges, nor believe them when they 
arise; all which causes belong to that consistent princi- 
ple, of which now for some time I have been treating. 
Thus the remark is true which I made at first, that 
friendship can only exist among the good; for it is the 
part of a good man (whom at the same time we may 
call a wise man), to observe these two rules in friend- 
ship: first, that there shall be nothing pretended or 
simulated (for even to hate openly better becomes the 
ingenuous man than by his looks to conceal his senti- 
ments); in the next place, that not only does he repel 
charges when brought (against his friends) by any 
one, but is not himself suspicious, ever fancying that 
some infidelity has been committed by his friend. To 
all this there should be added a certain suavity of con- 
versation and manners, affording, as it does, no incon- 
siderable zest to friendship. Now solemnity and gravity 
on all occasions, certainly, carry with them dignity; but 
friendship ought to be easier and more free and more 
pleasant, and tending more to every kind of politeness 
and good nature. 

But there arises on this subject a somewhat difficult 
question; whether ever new friends, if deserving friend- 
ship, are to be preferred to old ones, just as we are 
wont to prefer young colts to old horses? a perplexity 
unworthy of a man; for there ought to be no satiety of 



44 



DB AMICITIA 



friendship as of other things; everything which is old- 
est (as those wines which bear age well) ought to be 
sweetest; and that is true which is sometimes said, 
" many bushels of salt must be eaten together," before 
the duty of friendship can be fulfilled. But new friend- 
ships, if they afford a hope that, as in the case of plants 
which never disappoint, fruits shall appear, such are not 
to be rejected; yet the old one must be preserved in its 
proper place, for the power of age and custom is ex- 
ceedingly great; besides, in the very case of the horse, 
which I just mentioned, if there is no impediment, 
there is no one who does not more pleasurably use that 
to which he is accustomed than one unbroken and 
strange to him; and habit asserts its power, and habit 
prevails, not only in the case of this, which is animate, 
but also in the cases of those things which are inani- 
mate, since we take delight in the very mountainous or 
woody scenery among which we have long dwelt. But 
it is of the greatest importance in friendship that the 
superior should be on an equality with the inferior. 
For there often are instances of superiority, as was the 
case with Scipio, one, so to speak, of our own herd. 
He never ranked himself above Philus, or Rupilius, or 
Mummius, or other friends of an inferior grade. But 
his brother, Quintus Maximus, a distinguished man, 
though by no means equal to himself, simply because 
he was the elder, he treated as his superior, and he 



CICERO 



45 



wished all his friends should receive additional dignity 
through him. And this conduct should be adopted and 
imitated by all, so that if they have attained to any 
excellence in worth, genius or fortune, they should 
communicate them with their friends, and share them 
with their connections; so that if men have been born 
of humble parentage, or if they have kinsmen less pow- 
erful than themselves, either in mind or in fortune, 
they should increase the consequence of such persons, 
and be to them a source of credit and of dignity; as in 
works of fiction, they who for some time, through 
ignorance of their origin and descent, have been in a 
state of servitude, when they have been discovered and 
found out to be the sons of gods or kings, yet retain 
their affection for the shepherds, whom for many years 
they looked upon as their parents. And this assuredly 
is much rather to be observed in the case of parents 
that are real and undoubted. For the fruit of talent, 
and worth, "and every excellence, is gathered most fully 
when it is bestowed on every one most nearly connected 
with us. 

As therefore those who are superior in the connection 
of friendship and of union ought to put themselves on 
a level with their inferiors, so ought the inferiors not 
to grieve that they are surpassed by their friends, either 
in genius, or fortune, or rank; whereas most of them 
are always either complaining of something, or even 



46 



DE AMICITIA 



breaking out into reproaches; and so much the more 
if they think they have any thing which they can say 
was done by them in an obliging and friendly manner 
with some exertion on their part. A disgusting set of 
people assuredly they are who are ever reproaching you 
with their services; which the man on whom they are 
conferred ought indeed to remember, but he who con- 
ferred them ought not to call them to mind. Wherefore, 
as those who are superior ought in the exercise of friend- 
ship to condescend, so, in a measure, they ought to 
raise up their inferiors. For there are some persons 
who render friendships with them annoying, while 
they fancy they are slighted; this does not commonly 
happen except to those who think themselves liable to 
be slighted; and from this belief they require to be re- 
lieved, not only by your professions, but by your ac- 
tions. Now, first of all, so much advantage is to be 
bestowed on each as you yourself can produce; and in 
the next place, as much as he w^hom you love and assist 
can bear; for you could no*, however eminent you 
might be, bring all your friends to the very highest 
honor; just as Scipio had power to make Publius Rutu- 
lius consul, but could not do the same for his brother 
Lucius; indeed, even if you have the power to confer 
what you please on another, yet you must consider what 
he can bear. On the whole, those connections only 
can be considered as friendships, when both the dis- 



CICERO 



47 



positions and age have been established and matured. 
Nor, when persons have been in early life attached to 
hunting or tennis, are they bound to make intimates of 
those whom at that time they loved, as being endowed 
with the same taste: for on that principle, our nurses 
and the tutors of our childhood, by right of priority, 
will claim the greatest part of our affection; who, in- 
deed, should not be neglected, but possess our regard 
in some other manner: otherwise friendships could not 
continue steadfast. For dissimilar habits and dissimi- 
lar pursuits ensue; the dissimilarity of which severs 
friendships: it is for no other cause that the good can 
not be friends of the worthless, or the worthless of the 
good; but that there is between them the greatest dif- 
ference that can subsist of characters and pursuits. 
For in friendships this precept may be properly laid 
down, not to let ill-regulated affection (as often is the 
case) thwart and impede the great usefulness of friends; 
nor in truth (to revert to fiction), could Neoptolemus 
have taken Troy if he had been inclined to listen to 
Lycomedes, with whom he had been brought up, when 
with many tears he sought to prevent his journey: and 
often important occasions arise, so that you must bid 
farewell to your friends; and he who would hinder 
them, because he can not easily bear the regret for 
their loss, such an one is both weak and effeminate by 
nature, and on that ground unjust in his friendship. 



48 



DE AMICITIA 



And in every case it is necessary to consider, both what 
you would ask of a friend, and what favor you would 
permit to be obtained from yourself. 

There is a kind of calamity also, sometimes inevitable, 
in the discarding of friendships. For at length our dis- 
course descends, from the intimacies of the wise, to or- 
dinary friendships. The faults of friends often break 
out as well on the friends themselves as on strangers; 
and yet the disgrace of such persons must redound to 
their friends: such friendships therefore must be dis- 
solved by the intermission of intercourse, and (as I have 
heard Cato say) should be ripped rather than rent; un- 
less some intolerable sense of wrong has been kindled, 
so that it is neither right, nor creditable, nor possible 
that an estrangement and separation should not take 
place immediately. But if any change of character or 
pursuits (as commonly happens) shall have taken place, 
or quarrel arisen with respect to political parties (for I 
speak now, as I observed a little before, not of the 
friendships of the wise but of such as are ordinary), we 
should have to be cautious, lest not only friendships be 
found to be laid aside, but even animosity to have been 
incurred; for nothing can be more disgraceful than to 
be at war with him with whom you have lived on terms 
of friendship. From his friendship with Quintus Pom- 
pey, Scipio had withdrawn himself on my account (as 
you know); moreover ? on account of the dissension 



CICERO 



49 



which existed in the republic, he was estranged from 
my colleague Metellus; on both occasions he acted with 
dignity and decision, and with an offended but not bit- 
ter feeling. Wherefore, in the first place, pains must 
be taken that there be no alienation of friends; but if 
aught of the kind shall have occurred, that that friend- 
ship should seem rather to have died away than to have 
been violently destroyed. In truth we must take care 
lest friendship turn into bitter hostilities; from which 
quarrels, hard language, and insults are produced, and 
yet if they shall be bearable, they must be borne; and 
thus much honor should be paid to an old friendship, 
that he shall be in fault who inflicts the injury, and not 
he who suffers it. On the whole, against all such faults 
and inconveniences there is one precaution and one pro- 
vision, that we should not begin to love too hastily, nor 
love unworthy persons. Now they are worthy of friend- 
ship in whom there exists a reason why they should be 
loved; a rare class (for in truth all that is excellent is 
rare), nor is aught more difficult than to find any thing 
which in every respect is perfect of its kind: but most 
men recognize nothing as good in human affairs but 
what is profitable; and with their friends as with cattle, 
they love those most especially from whom they hope 
they will receive most advantage; and thus they are des- 
titute of that most beautiful and most natural friendship, 
which is desirable for itself and of itself; nor do they 



50 



DE AMICITIA 



exemplify to themselves what and how powerful this 
quality of friendship is. For every one loves himself, 
not that he may exact from himself some reward of his 
affection, but that, for his own sake, every one is dear 
to himself. And unless this same principle be trans- 
ferred to friendship, a true friend will never be found; 
for such an one is, as it were, a second self. Now, if 
this is apparent in beasts, birds, fishes, creatures of the 
field, tame and wild, that first they love themselves (for 
the principle is alike born with every living thing); in 
the next place that they seek out and desire some creatures 
of the same species to which they may unite themselves, 
and do this with desire, and with a kind of resemblance 
to human love; how much more naturally does this take 
place in man by nature, who not only loves himself, but 
seeks for another whose soul he may so mingle with his 
own, as almost to create one person out of two? 

Yet most men, perversely, not to say shamelessly, de- 
sire to have a friend, such as they themselves are unable 
to be: and allowances which they themselves make not 
for their friends, they require from them. Now, the 
fair thing is, first that a man himself should be good, 
and then that he should seek another like to himself. 
Among such persons, there may be established that 
solidity of friendship which I have long been treating 
on; when men are united by benevolent feeling, they 
will first of all master those passions to which others 



CICERO 



51 



are slaves; next, they will take pleasure in equity and 
justice, and the one will undertake every thing for the 
other; nor will the one ever ask of the other any thing 
but what is honorable and right: nor will they only 
mutually regard and love each other, but even have a 
feeling of respect; for he removes the greatest ornament 
of friendship who takes away from it respect. Accord- 
ingly, there is a pernicious error in those who think that 
a free indulgence in all lusts and sins is extended in 
friendship. Friendship was given us by nature as the 
handmaid of virtues, and not as the companion of our 
vices: that since, alone and unaided, virtue could not 
arrive at the highest attainments, she might be able to 
do so when united and associated with another; and if such 
a society between any persons either exists or has existed, 
or is likely to do so, their companionship is to be es- 
teemed, in respect of the chief good in life, most excel- 
lent and most happy. This, I say, is that association in 
which all things exist which men deem worthy the pur- 
suit — reputation, high esteem, peace of mind, and cheer- 
fulness; so that where these blessings are present, life is 
happy, and without these can not be so. And whereas 
this is the best and highest of objects, if we would gain 
it, attention must be paid to virtue; without which we 
can neither obtain friendship nor any thing worthy of 
pursuit: indeed, should this be disregarded, they who 
think they possess friends, too late find that they are 



52 



DE AMICITIA 



mistaken, when some grievous misfortune compels them 
to make the trial. Wherefore (for I must say it again 
and again) when you have formed your judgment, then 
it behooves you to give your affections; and not when 
you have given your affections, then to form the judg- 
ment; but while in many cases we suffer for our care- 
lessness, so especially in choosing and cultivating friends; 
for we adopt a preposterous plan, and set about doing 
what has been already done, which we are forbidden by 
the old proverb to do. For, being entangled on every 
side, either by daily intercourse or else by kind offices, 
suddenly, in the middle of our course, on some offense 
arising, we break off our friendships altogether. 

Wherefore so much the more is this great negligence 
to be blamed in a matter of the highest necessity. For 
friendship is the only point in human affairs, concern- 
ing the benefit of which all with one voice agree; al- 
though by many virtue herself is despised, and is said 
to be a mere bragging and ostentation. Many per- 
sons despise riches; for, being content with a little, 
moderate food and a moderate style of living de- 
lights them; as to high offices, in truth, with the am- 
bitious desire of which some men are inflamed, how 
many men so completely disregard them that they think 
nothing is more vain and more trifling; and likewise 
there are those who reckon as nothing other things 
which to some men seem worthy of admiration; con- 



CICERO 



53 



cerning friendship, all to a man have the same opinion. 
Those who have devoted themselves to political affairs, 
and those who find pleasure in knowledge and learning, 
and those who transact their own affairs at their leisure, 
and lastly, those who have given themselves wholly up 
to pleasure, feel that without friendship life is nothing, 
at least if they are inclined in any degree to live re- 
spectably; for somehow or other, friendship entwines 
itself with the life of all men, nor does it suffer any 
mode of spending our life to be independent of itself. 
Moreover, if there is any one of such ferocity and bru- 
tality of nature that he shuns and hates the intercourse 
of mankind, such as we have heard that one Timon was 
at Athens; yet even he can not possibly help looking 
out for some one on whom he may disgorge the venom 
of his ill-nature. And this would be most clearly de- 
cided if something of this kind could happen — that 
some god should remove us from the crowded society of 
men, and place us somewhere in solitude, and there 
supplying us with abundance and plenty of all things 
which nature requires, yet should take from us alto- 
gether the opportunity of seeing a human being, who 
would then be so insensible that he could endure such a 
life, and from whom would not solitude take away the 
enjoyment of all pleasure? Accordingly, there is truth 
in that which I have heard our old men relate to have 
been commonly said by Archytas of Tarentum, and I 



54 



DE AMICITIA 



think heard by them from others their elders, that if 
any one could have ascended to the sky and surveyed 
the structure of the universe, and the beauty of the stars, 
that such admiration would be insipid to him; and yet 
it would be most delightful if he had some one to whom 
he might describe it. Thus nature loves nothing soli- 
tary, and always reaches out to something as a support, 
which ever in the sincerest friend is most delightful. 

But while nature declares by so many indications 
what she likes, seeks after, and requires, yet we turn, I 
know not how, a deaf ear, nor do we listen to those ad- 
monitions which we receive from her. For the inter- 
course of friendship is various and manifold, and many 
occasions are presented of suspicion and offense, which 
it is the part of a wise man sometimes to wink at, some- 
times to make light of, or at others to endure. This 
one ground of offense must be mitigated in order that 
truth and sincerity in friendship may be preserved; for 
friends require to be advised and to be reproved; and 
such treatment ought to be taken in a friendly spirit 
when it is kindly meant. But somehow or other 
it is very true what my dear friend Terence says in his 
Andria: " Complaisance begets friends, but truth ill- 
will." Truth is grievous, if indeed ill-will arises from 
it, which is the bane of friendship. But complaisance 
is much more grievous, because it allows a friend to be 
precipitated into ruin by yielding to his faults. But 



CICERO 



55 



the greatest of all faults is chargeable on him who dis- 
regards truth, and thus by complaisance is led into dis- 
honesty. Accordingly, in managing this whole matter, 
carefulness and diligence must be employed; first, that 
our advice may be free from bitterness, and next, that 
reproof may be unattended by insult; in our complai- 
sance, however (since I gladly adopt the saying of 
Terence), let there be a kindness of manner, let flattery, 
however, the handmaid of vices, be far removed, since 
it is not only unworthy of a friend, but even of a free 
man; for you live after one fashion with a tyrant, after 
another with a friend. Now where a man's ears are 
shut against the truth, so that he can not hear the truth 
from a friend, the welfare of such a one is to be de- 
spaired of; for the following remark of Cato is shrewd, 
as many of his are, " that bitter enemies deserve better 
at the hands of some than those friends who seem 
agreeable; that the former often speak the truth, the 
latter never." And it is an absurd thing that those 
who receive advice do not experience that annoyance 
which they ought to feel, but feel that from which they 
ought to be free; for they are not distressed because 
they have done wrong, but take it amiss that they are 
rebuked; whereas, on the contrary, they ought to be 
sorry for their misconduct, and to be glad at its correc- 
tion. 

As, therefore, both to give and to receive advice is 



56 



DE AMICITIA 



the characteristic of true friendship, and that the one 
should perform his part with freedom but not harshly, 
and the other should receive it patiently and not with 
recrimination; so it should be considered that there is 
no greater bane to friendship than adulation, fawning, 
and flattery. For this vice should be branded under as 
many names as possible, being that of worthless and de- 
signing men, who say every thing with a view of pleasing, 
and nothing with regard to truth. Now while hypoc- 
risy in all things is blamable (for it does away with all 
judgment of truth, and adulterates truth itself), so es- 
pecially is it repugnant to friendship, for it destroys all 
truth, without which the name of friendship can avail 
nothing. For since the power of friendship consists in 
this, that one soul is as it were made of many, how 
could that take place if there should not be in any one 
a soul, one and the same always, but fickle, changeable, 
and manifold? For what can be so pliant, so inconsis- 
tent, as the soul of that man, who veers not only to the 
feelings and wishes, but even to the look and very nod 
of another. "Does any one say, 6 No? 'so do I; says 
any, 6 Yes?' so do I: in a word, I have charged myself to 
assent to every thing," as the same Terence says; but 
he speaks in the character of Gnatho, and to select a 
friend of this character is an act of downright folly. 
And there are many like Gnatho, though his superiors 
in rank, fortune, and character; the flattery of such 



CICERO 



67 



people is offensive indeed, since respectability is asso- 
ciated with duplicity. Now a fawning friend may be 
distinguished from a true one, and discerned by the em- 
ployment of diligence, just as every thing which is 
falsely colored and counterfeit, from what is genuine 
and true. The assembly of the people, which consists 
of the most ignorant persons, yet can decide what dif- 
ference there is between the seeker after popular applause, 
the flatterer and the worthless citizen, and one who is 
consistent, dignified, and worthy. With what flatteries 
did Curius Papirius lately insinuate himself into the ears 
of the assembly, when he sought to pass an act to re- 
elect the tribunes of the people? I opposed it. But I 
say nothing of myself; I speak with greater pleasure 
concerning Scipio. O immortal gods! what dignity 
was his! what majesty in his speech! so that you might 
readily pronounce him the leader of the Roman people, 
and not their associate: but you were present, and the 
speech is still extant: accordingly this act, meant to 
please the people, was rejected by the votes of the people. 
But, to return to myself, you remember when Quintus 
Maximus, brother of Scipio, and Lucius Mancius were 
consuls, how popular the sacredotal act of Caius Licinius 
Crassus seemed to be; for the election of the college was 
thereby transferred to the presentation of the people. 
And he first commenced the practice of turning toward 
the forum, and addressing the people. And yet regard 



58 



DE AMICITIA 



for the immortal gods, under my advocacy, gained an 
easy triumph over his plausible address. Now this oc- 
curred in my praetorship, five years before I was consul; 
so that that cause was supported rather by its own im- 
portance than by supreme influence. 

Now, if upon the stage, that is, before the assembly, 
where every advantage is given to fictions and imitations, 
yet the truth prevails (if only it be set forth and illus- 
trated), what ought to be the case in friendship, which 
is measured according to simple truth? for in it (as the 
saying is) ye see an open heart and show your ow T n also; 
you can have nothing faithful, nothing certain; and you 
can not love or be loved, since you are uncertain how 
far it is sincerely done. And yet that flattery, however 
pernicious it be, can hurt no one but the man who re- 
ceives it, and is most delighted with himself. Hence it 
happens that he opens his ears widest to flatteries who is 
a flatterer of himself, and takes the highest delight in 
himself: no doubt virtue loves herself, for she is best 
acquainted with herself, and is conscious how amiable 
she is: but I am not speaking of virtue, but of a conceit 
of virtue; for not so many desire to be endowed with 
virtue itself, as to seem to be so. Flattery delights such 
men: when conversation formed to their wishes is ad- 
dressed to such persons, they think those deceitful ad- 
dresses to be the evidence of their merits. This, there- 
fore, is not friendship at all, when one party is unwill- 



CICERO 



59 



ing to hear the truth, and the other prepared to speak 
falsely. Nor would the flattery of parasites in comedies 
seem to us facetious, unless there were swaggering sol- 
diers also. " Does then Thais pay me many thanks? It 
was enough to answer 'yes, many;' but he says 'infinite.' " 
The flatterer always exaggerates that which he, for 
whose pleasure he speaks, wishes to be great. Although 
the flattering falsehood may have influence with those 
who themselves allure and invite it; yet more steady and 
consistent persons require to be warned that they take 
care lest they are entrapped by such crafty flattery; for 
every one, except the man who is extremely obtuse, ob- 
serves the person who openly employs adulation. But 
lest the crafty and insidious man should insinuate him- 
self, you must be studiously on your guard; for he is 
not very easily recognized; seeing that he often flatters 
by opposing; and pretending that he quarrels, is fawn- 
ing all the time, and at last surrenders himself, and al- 
lows himself to be beaten; so that he who has been de- 
luded may fancy that he has seen further than the other; 
for w^hat can be more disgraceful than to be deluded? 
And, lest this happen, we must be more cautious, as it is 
said in the Epiclerus, "To-day, above all the foolish old 
fellows of the comedy, you will have deceived me and 
played upon me in a most amusing manner." For 
this is the most foolish character of all in the plays, that 
of unthinking and credulous old men. But I know not 



60 



DE AMICITIA 



bow it is that my address, passing from the friendship 
of perfect men, that is of the wise (for I speak of that 
wisdom which seems within the reach of man), has di- 
gressed into frivolous friendships. Wherefore, let me 
return to that from which I set out, and bring these re- 
marks at length to a conclusion. 

It is virtue, virtue I say, Caius Fannius, and you, 
Quintus Mucius, that both wins friendship and preserves 
it; for in it is found the power of adapting one's self to 
circumstances, and also steadfastness and consistency; 
and when she has exalted herself and displayed her own 
effulgence, and hath beheld the same and recognized it 
in another, she moves toward it, and in her turn receives 
that which is in the other; from which is kindled love 
or friendship, for both derive their name from loving; 
for to love is nothing else than to be attached to the 
person whom you love, without any sense of want, 
without any advantage being sought; and yet advantage 
springs up of itself from friendship, even though you 
may not have pursued it. It was with kind feelings of 
this description that I, when young, was attached to 
those old men, Lucius Paullus, Marcus Cato, Caius 
Gallus, Publius Nasica, and Tiberius Gracchus, the 
father-in-law of our friend Scipio. This is even more 
strikingly obvious between persons of the same age as 
between me and Scipio, Lucius Furius, Publius Rupilius 
and Spurius Mummius; and now in turn, in my old age, 



CICERO 



61 



I repose in the attachment of younger men, as in yours 
and that of Quintus Tubero; nay, I even take delight in 
the familiarity of some that are very young, of Publius 
Rutilius and Aulius Virginius. And since the course 
of our life and nature is so directed that a new period 
. is ever arising, it is especially to be wished that with 
those comrades with whom you set out, as it were, from 
the starting, with the same you may, as they say, arrive 
at the goal. But since human affairs are frail and 
fleeting, some persons must ever be sought for whom we 
may love, and by whom we may be loved; for when af- 
fection and kind feeling are done away with, all cheer- 
fulness likewise is banished from existence. To me, 
indeed, though he was suddenly snatched away, Scipio 
still lives, and will always live; for I love the virtue of 
that man, and that worth is not yet extinguished; and 
not before my eyes only is it presented, who ever had it 
in possession, but even with posterity it will be illustri- 
ous and renowned; for never shall any undertake any 
high achievements with spirit and hope, without feeling 
that the memory and the character of that man should be 
placed before him. Assuredly, of all things that either 
fortune or nature has bestowed on me, I have none 
which I can compare with the friendship of Scipio. In 
it I had concurrence in politics, and in it advice for my 
private affairs. In it, also, I possessed a repose replete 
with pleasure. Never in the slightest degree did I of- 



62 



DE AMICITIA 



fend him, at least so far as I was aware; never did I my- 
self hear a word from him that I was unwilling to hear; 
we had one house between us, the same food, and that 
common to both; and not only service abroad, but even 
our traveling and visits to the country were in common. 
For what need I say of our constant pursuits of knowl- 
edge and learning, in which, retired from the eyes of the 
world, we spent all our leisure time? Now, if the rec- 
ollection and memory of these things had died along 
with him, I could in no wise have borne the loss of that 
most intimate and affectionate friend; but these things 
have not perished, yea, they are rather cherished and 
improved by reflection and memory; and even if I were 
altogether bereft of them, yet would age itself bring me 
much comfort, for I can not now very long suffer these 
regrets. Now all afflictions, if brief, ought to be toler- 
able, howsoever great they may be. Such are the re- 
marks I had to make on friendship. But as for you, I 
exhort you to lay the foundations of virtue, without 
which friendship can not exist, in such a manner that, 
w T ith this one exception, you may consider that nothing 
in the world is more excellent than friendship. 



TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION. 



Sources of Friendship- 

1. Reverence for what is noble and great in the 
character of another. 

2. Need of those elements of character which are 
possessed by one and not by the other, viz., differences 
of quality. 

3. Similarities of character — that condition of soul 
which permits one to tell the truth because he is under- 
stood. 

How many examples can you name of friendships 
which have become historical because of the greatness 
of the persons interested? From which of the sources 
enumerated above have those friendships sprung? 

Are friends chosen by chance, or by the natures of 
the persons who become friends? Why are some friend- 
ships of longer duration than others? 

Show how the German proverb: 

"Getheilte Freude, doppelte Freude; 
Getheilter Schmerz, halber Schmerz." 
(Joy shared is Joy doubled; 
Pain shared is Pain halved.) 

is true, as regards Friendship. Bacon says: " The 
parable of Pythagoras is dark but true: Cor ne edito 
(Eat not the heart). Certainly, if a man would give it 
a hard phrase, those that want friends to open them- 
selves unto are cannibals of their own hearts. But one 
thing is admirable, which is, that this communicating 
of a man's self to his friend works two contrary effects; 
for it redoubleth joys and cutteth griefs in halves." 



64 



DE AMICITIA. 



Name some of the qualities you think necessary for 
friendship. What qualities are considered by Cicero as 
essential to friendship? Is there a difference between 
the elements of a brief and temporary friendship and 
one that lasts for many years? What is meant by the 
proverb concerning "many bushels of salt " on page 44? 
Aristotle quotes }t as a proverbial saying, so that it is 
of great antiquity. 

The historian Paterculus says of Cicero, that only in 
Cicero's lifetime was there any great eloquence in Rome. 

What other orators lived in Rome in Cicero's time? 

What were the conditions of life in Rome in regard 
to liberty and religion which caused orators to appear? 

" The great ideas that suddenly expand the mind of 
man indicate themselves by orators " — Show how this 
was exemplified in the days of Cicero. 



BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 



Aemilius Papus, or JElius Paetus, the most distinguished 
jurist of his time, named Catus from his acuteness. (B. C. 198). 

Africanus, a surname given to the Scipios, on account of 
thek victories in Africa. The one meant in the text was the 
younger son of L. iEmilius Paulus, the conqueror of Macedonia, 
and was adopted by Publius Scipio, son of the conqueror of Han- 
nibal. In his seventeenth year he accompanied his father, 
Paulus, to Greece, and fought under him at the battle of Pydna, 
168 B. C. Scipio devoted himself with ardor to the study of 
literature, and formed an intimate relationship with Polybius 
and Panaetius. The poets Lucilius and Terence were his friends. 
His friendship with Laelius has been immortalized by Cicero's 
essay, the full title being ' ' Laelius, sive de Amicitia. " Although 
thus devoted to the study of polite literature, Scipio is said to 
have cultivated the virtues which distinguished the older 
Bomans, and to have made Cato the model of his conduct. By 
his personal bravery and military skill, he gained great renown 
in Africa and at home. When he returned to Rome to become a 
candidate for the aedileship in 147 he was elected consul, al- 
though he was only thirty-seven, the age required for candidates 
to the consulship being forty-three. The senate assigned to him 
Africa as his province. He prosecuted the siege of Carthage with 
the utmost vigor, and captured the city in 146. After reducing 
Africa to the form of a Roman province, Scipio returned to Rome. 
The surname of Africanus which he had inherited by adoption 
from the conqueror of Hannibal, he had now acquired for him- 
self by his own exploits. The long continuance of the war in 
Spain again called Scipio to the consulship. Spain was assigned 
to him, and his work there met with success. He brought the 
war to a close by the capture of the city of Numantia, after a 
long siege. During his absence in Spain Tiberius Gracchus had 
been put to death. Upon his return he opposed the popular 
party, and tried to prevent the agrarian law of T. Gracchus 
from being carried into eifect. In the disputes that arose in con- 



66 



BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 



sequence he was accused by Carbo as an enemy of the people. 
He went home in the evening intending to compose a speech for 
the following day, but in the morning he was found dead in his 
bed. He is supposed to have been murdered. 

Scipio's own mother, the wife of Paulus iEmilius, was divorced 
for no assignable reason, and was left very poor. Her son, on 
the death of the widow of his adopted father, gave her the en- 
tire estate that then came into his possession. After his mother's 
death, law and custom authorized him to resume what he had 
given her: but he then gave it to his sisters. The conversation 
which Cicero mentions as held with Scipio is " De Senectute." 
See page 11. 

Agrigentum, " a certain learned man of Agrigentum, " was 
Empedocles, who lived about 444 B. C. He was a learned and 
eloquent philosopher who excelled also in medicine and poetry. 
He taught the Hindoo belief that the soul has been banished into 
the body to punish it, and that it migrates through animal and 
vegetable bodies until it shall be entirely purified. His works 
were all in verse, and some fragments have come down to us. 
Empeclocles was chosen as a model by Lucretius. 

Andria, a play of Terence, who was a native of Carthage, 
and sold as a slave to Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator. 
He was on terms of intimacy with Scipio, the elder Africanus 
and Laelius. He is said, to have translated one hundred and 
three of the comedies of the poet Menander, six only of which are 
extant. He died about B. C. 159. 

Apollo, oracle of — See Socrates. 

Archytas, of Tarentum, a Pythagorean philosopher, an able 
astronomer and geometrician. He was contemporary with Plato, 
whose life he is said to have saved by his influence with the tyrant 
Dionysius. He lived about 400 B. C. 

Atilius Lucius, surnamed Sapiens, a Roman jurist who 
lived about 180 B. C. He was one of the earliest of the juricon- 
suls who took pupils. 

Atticus, a Roman philosopher and scholar celebrated for his 



BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 



7 



benevolence, moderation and fine literary taste. He was born in 
109 B. C. He was an intimate friend of Cicero, with whom he 
corresponded regularly for many years, and was on friendly 
terms with Caesar, Pompey, Brutus, Mark Antony and Augustus. 
When Brutus was forced to fly from Italy, Atticus sent him 
$40,000. He also gave relief to the wife of Antony in her adver- 
sity. He devoted his life for the most part to literature, adher- 
ing to a resolution formed in early life, never to accept public 
office. Atticus' real name was Pomponius. The name Atticus 
was due to his Greek culture and sympathies, and his long resi- 
dence at Athens. 

Bias, one of the "Seven Wise Men of Greece." See "Seven." 

Blossius Caius, of Cumae, was a philosopher, a disciple of 
Antipater of Tarsus, and friend of Tiberius Gracchus. He took 
refuge with Aristonicus, king of Pergamus, then at war with 
Rome; and when Aristonicus was conquered Blossius committed 
suicide. 

Brutus, Decius, one of Caesars followers. He had been 
commander of his cavalry. He was one of the murderers of 
Caesar although he had been a special favorite of that great gen- 
eral. He was slain by Camillus, a Gaul to whom he had fled for 
refuge, and whom he had formerly loaded with benefits. His 
head was sent to Antony. 

Oarbo, Caius Papirius, a distinguished orator, and a man of 
great talents, but of no principle. He was tribune of the people 
in the time of Tiberius Gracchus, who was his friend. But after 
the death of Caius Gracchus he deserted the popular party. He 
was the bitter enemy of Scipio and is supposed to have caused 
his death. 

Oassius Spurius Viscellinus, who was thrice chosen 
consul, is distinguished as having carried the first agrarian law 
at Rome. This law brought upon him the enmity of his fellow - 
patricians; they accused him of aiming at regal power and put 
him to death in 485 B. C. 

Gato Major. An essay written in defence of old age. It is 



OR 



BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 



supposed to have been spoken by Marcus Porcius Cato — the 
"Elder," or the "Censor," who was born at Tusculum, of a ple- 
beian family, B. C. 234. The Cato of the dialogue is mild- 
mannered, reflective, at home in philosormical literature, and 
even not disinclined to music, after the manner of Socrates. The 
real Cato was harsh in temper, narrow in prejudice, a shrewd 
hater of the elder Scipio, his rival, and of the whole party of re- 
finement. Lahmeyer says of him, "He was a man of iron 
strength of body and mind, of antique sternness and firmness of 
character, of simplicity and thrift, of patriotism that was close 
to narrow bigotry, of strength of will and patient temper, of un- 
wearied force of toil and thirst for knowledge, with a copious 
knowledge of law and a vigorous original eloquence, of bravery 
and generalship, of nervous activity in his province as husband- 
man and householder, as statesman and writer, with a high repu- 
tation for practical sagacity, commanding the unshaken regard 
of the people and the senate, in both public and private life, and 
all this to the end of his great old age." 

Cicero's essay on Old Age was written when he was more than 
sixty-two years old, and is addressed to his friend Atticus, who 
was five years older. 

Plutarch, speaking of the death of Cato's eldest son, mention 
of which is made on page ten of the text, says, " It was said that 
he bore his loss moderately and like a philosopher, and was 
nothing remiss in attending to affairs of state." The younger 
Cato was praetor at the time of his death, and had won fame as 
a soldier. • 

Coriolanus, Caius Marcius. While the Romans were be- 
sieging Corioli, the Volsci made a sally, but were defeated. 
In the eagerness of the pursuit, Caius Marcius followed the 
enemy inside the gates, which were closed upon him. But with 
his good sword he hewed his way back, and let in the Romans. 
So the city was taken, and the hero received the name Coriolanus. 
Afterward there was a famine at Rome, and grain arriving from 
Sicily, Caius would not sell any to the plebeians unless they 
would submit to the patricians. Thereupon the tribunes tried 



BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 



69 



to bring him to trial, but he fled and took refuge among the 
Yolsci. Soon after he returned at the head of a great army and 
laid siege to Rome. As a last resort, his mother, wife and child- 
ren with many of the chief women, clad in deepest mourning, 
went forth and fell at his feet. Unable to resist their prayers, 
Coriolanus exclaimed, ' ' Mother, thou hast saved Rome, but lost 
thy son." Having ordered the retreat, he is said to have been 
slain by the angry Yolsci. 

Oorucanius, Titus, an eminent jurist and senator, was 
elected consul in 280 B. C, and pontifex maximus about 254 B. 
C. He was the first plebeian who attained the latter dignity, 
and he was the first person in Rome who gave regular instruction 
in law. 

Crassus, Licinius, a Roman historian, leader of the popular 
party. His history of Rome, entitled 4 'Annals," or "Rerum 
Romanorum Libri, " is referred to with respect by Livy. He was 
impeached by Cicero. The measure proposed by Crassus was 
one by which the election of the augurs was given to the people 
and taken from the priests, hence a radical measure. 

Dentatus, Ouriu3 Marcus, a favorite hero of the Roman 
republic, was celebrated in later times as a noble specimen of old 
Roman frugality and virtue. In his first consulship (B. C. 290) 
he successfully opposed the Samnites, and in his second he de- 
feated Pyrrhus. At the close of his military career he retired to 
his small farm which he cultivated with his own hands. Once 
the Samnites sent an embassy to him with costly presents; they 
found him sitting on the hearth and roasting turnips. He re- 
jected their presents, telling them he preferred ruling over those 
who possessed gold to possessing it himself. While he was cen- 
sor he supplied Rome with water from the Anio by an aqueduct. 

Ennius, a Roman epic poet, born of a Greek family about 
239 B. C. In early life he became a citizen of Rome, where he 
obtained the friendship of Cato, Scipio and Cicero. His principal 
work, called the " Annals," a historical epic, was for along time 
the most popular poem in the language. He is said to have first 
introduced the heroic hexameter verse from the Greek into Latin 



10 



BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 



poetry. His works are all lost except some fragments quoted by 
Cicero and others. 

Bpiclerus, a comedy by Caecilius Statius, a freedman of In- 
subrian birth, of whose writings only a few fragments remain. 

Fabius, Quintus, eldest son of Paulus and adopted son of 
Fabius Maximus. 

Fabricius, a Roman statesman, celebrated for his great in- 
tegrity and simplicity of life. About 280 B. C. he was sent on an 
embassy to Pyrrhus, who was encamped with an army near Ta- 
rentum. His conduct on that occasion has furnished a theme 
for historians and poets. He refused the rich presents or bribes 
which Pyrrhus offered him. 

Fannius, Oaius, a Roman historian, who distinguished him- 
self at the capture of Carthage, 146 B. C. He wrote a work on 
Roman history. 

Furius, Lucius Philo, a man who was called a great friend 
of literature. 

Gabinian Law. — Lex Gabinia de Gomitiis, by Aulus Gabi- 
nius, the tribune. It required that in the public assemblies for 
electing magistrates, the votes should be given by tablets, and 
not viva voce. Cassius was tribune of the people, and competitor 
with Cicero for the consulship. 

Gallus, an eminent astronomer. 

Gnatho, a parasite in the play called The Eunuch, by the 
poet Terence. 

Gracchus, Oaius, brother of Tiberius, was tribune of the 
plebs in 123 B. C. His reforms were far more extensive than his 
brother's, and such was his influence with the people that he 
carried all he proposed. His first measure was the renewal of the 
agrarian laws of his brother. The senate, unable to resist the 
measures of Caius, caused the people to arise in a mob, and he 
was killed by a faithful slave to prevent his falling into the 
hands of his enemies. 

Gracchus, Tiberius, grandson of the conqueror of HannibaK 



BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 



71 



secured the passage of an agrarian law, which directed the pub- 
lic land to be assigned in small farms to the needy, so as to give 
every man a ho.mestead, and he proposed to divide the treasures 
of Attalus among those who received land, in order to enable 
them to build houses and buy cattle. But the oligarchs aroused 
a mob by which Gracchus was assassinated. 

Graeoia Magna, the name given to a cluster of Greek col- 
onies thickly scattered along the shore of Southern Italy. 

Hannibal, a great Carthaginian leader, who in 218 B. C. in- 
vaded Italy. In the battle at Cannae, twenty-one tribunes, 
eighty senators, and os T er seventy thousand men of Rome fell. 
After the battle Hannibal sent to Carthage a bushel of gold rings, 
the ornaments of Roman knights. Publius Scipio carried the 
war against the Carthaginians into Africa, and Hannibal was 
defeated by him at Tama. Scipio received the name Africanus 
in honor of his triumph. 

Laelius, Oaius, surnamed Sapiens, was an eminent orator. 
He studied philosophy with Diogenes the Stoic. He served with 
distinction under his friend Scipio the younger at the siege of 
Carthage, and was consul in 140 B. C. He died about 115 B. C. 
The two names Scipio and Laelius are types of friendship, like 
Damon and Pythias, David and Jonathan, Pylades and Orestes, 
or Patroclus and Achilles. 

Laenas, consul in 132 B. C, the year after the murder of T. 
Gracchus. He was charged by the victorious aristocratic party 
with the prosecution of the accomplices of Gracchus. He after- 
wards withdrew into voluntary exile from the vengeance of 
Caius Gracchus. 

Lucius, the brother of Publius Rupilius, and not the brother 
of Scipio. See page 46. 

Lycomedes, king of the Dolopians, in the island of Scyros, 
to whose court Achilles was sent disguised as a maiden by his 
mother, to prevent his goin^ to the Trojan war. The daughter 
of Lycomedes was the mothe:* of Neoptolemus and Achilles was 
his father. 



12 



BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 



Maelius, Spurius, a Roman knight who gained the favor of 
the people by the profuse use of his large fortune. He was ac- 
cused of a design to make himself king, and. was summoned 
before Cincinnatus, who was appointed dictator for the occasion. 
Refusing to submit, he was killed by Servilius Ahala in 439 B. C. 

Manilius, a Roman tribune and partisan of Pompey. He 
proposed a bill called "Lex Manilia," granting to Pompey the 
command of the war against Mithridates in place of Lucullus. 
On this occasion Cicero uttered his celebrated oration, " Pro lege 
Manilia." 

Metellus, praetor in 148 B. C, defeated the usurper Andres- 
«eus in Macedonia. Although the intimacy of Scipio and Metel- 
lus was suspended for political reasons, yet they held each other 
in high regard. 

Mucius, Quintus. See Scaevola. 

Mummius, defeated the Achaen league, established a Roman 
province in Greece, and was censor B. C. 132 with Scipio Afri- 
canus. 

Nasica, leader of the senate in the murder of T. Gracchus. 
He became in consequence such an object of hatred to the people 
that he was sent to Asia, and after long wandering died at Per- 
gamum. 

Neoptolemus, a surname of Pyrrhus, the son of Achilles. 
He was so called because he came to the Trojan war in the last 
year of the siege of Troy. According to the fates, Troy could 
not be taken without his assistance. His mother was the daugh- 
ter of Lycomedes, king of the island of Scyros. 

Orestes, son of Agamemnon, slew his mother, Clytemnestra, 
and thus avenged his father's death, but though the guilt of his 
mother alleviated the revolting act, yet it did not fail to awaken 
great horror, and the Eumenides, avenging deities, seized upon 
Orestes, and drove him frantic from land to land. Pylades ac- 
companied him in his wanderings, and watched over him. Ores* 
tes has been the subject of many Greek writings. 

Pacuvius, Marcus, an eminent tragic poet and painter, 



BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 



7-3 



born at Brundusium about 220 B. C, was a nephew of the poet 
Ennius. According to the judgment of Quintilian and other 
ancient critics his dramas had some merit. His works are lost 
except small fragments, 
Papirius. See Carbo. 

Paulus, a consul B. C. 216, killed in the battle of Cannae, 
father of the victor of Pydna, and grandfather of the younger 
Africanus. Two younger sons died, the one aged twelve, five 
days before his father's triumph over Perseus, the other, aged 
fifteen, eight days afterwards. As his two elder sons had been 
adopted into the Fabian and Cornelian families, he left no de- 
scendants to bear his name. 

Philus was an upright, impartial man. At the close of his 
consulship, he was sent to take command of the army against 
Numantia, and chose for his lieutenants Metellus and Pompeius, 
his bitter enemies, but the men best fitted for the service. B. C. 
66. 

Pompeius, Quintus, a Roman general and orator, was consul 
in 141 B. C. He commanded in Spain in 140 and was defeated. 
In 131 B. C. he was elected censor. Laelius intended to present 
himself as a candidate for the consulship. Pompeius was asked 
whether he would be a candidate, and when he replied that he 
would not, Scipio asked him to use his influence in behalf of 
Laelius. This Pompeius promised, and then instead of being true 
to his word, offered himself for the consulship, and was elected. 

Pylades, son of Strophius, king of Phocis, was a cousin and 
intimate friend of Orestes, whose sister Electra he married. The 
friendship of Pylades and Orestes was proverbial. 

Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, came to the help of Tarentum, a 
Greek city in Southern Italy, against Rome in 280 B. C. He 
brought twenty-five thousand soldiers and twenty elephants. 
For the first time the Roman legion met the Macedonian phalanx. 
Pyrrhus won at first, but was finally defeated. He offered Fab- 
ricius "more gold than Rome had ever possessed" if he would 
enter his service, but Fabricius replied that ' ' Poverty with a 



74 



BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 



good name is better than wealth." Afterward the physician of 
Pyrrhus offered to poison the king. But the indignant Roman 
sent back the traitor in irons. Pyrrhus, not to be outdone in 
generosity, set free all his captives, saying, ' ' It is easier to turn 
the sun from its course than Fabricius from the path of honor." 

Rupilius, consul in 132 B. C, prosecuted with great energy 
all the adherents of T. Gracchus. He was condemned in the 
tribunate of C. Gracchus for his cruel and illegal acts in the pros- 
ecution of the friends of T. Gracchus. 

Scaevola, Q. Mucius, a Roman consul, B. C. 117, surnamed 
the Augur. He was eminent as a jurist. His wife was daughter 
of Caius Laelius. 

Scaevola, also Quintus Mucius, surnamed Pontifex, was son 
of Publius Mucius. He was chosen consul in 95 B. C, and was 
afterwards proconsul of Asia and pontifex maximus. He was a 
great jurist and orator. Having been proscribed by the younger 
Marius, he was killed in the temple of Vesta 82 B. C. Cicero 
gives us a picture of him elsewhere. " Though he did not under- 
take to give instruction to anyone, yet he practically taught those 
who were anxious to listen to him by allowing them to hear his 
answers to those who consulted him." 

Seven Wise Men of Greece, lived about 600 B, C. They 
were Cleobulus, Chilo, Periander, Pittacus, Solon, Bias, Thales. 

Socrates, the celebrated Athenian philosopher, born near 
Athens B. C. 469: He taught the unity of God, the immortalhVv 
of the soul, the beauty and necessity of virtue and the moral re- 
sponsibility of man. When the oracle of Apollo was consulted 
as to the wisest man, the reply was that there was no man wiser 
than Socrates. 

Sulpicius, Publius, a Roman orator, born in 124 B. C, 
became tribune 88 B. C, and was an adherent of Marius in the 
civil war with Sulla. He was afterward betrayed into the hands 
of Sulla, and put to death. 

Tarquinius, Superbus was the seventh and last king of 
Rome. He erected massive edifices, compelling the workmen to 



BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 



75 



receive such pitiable wages, that many in desx>air committed 
suicide. He was so tyrannical and unjust, that the people rose 
in indignation, and drove the Tarquins from the city. Hence- 
forth the Romans hated the very name of king. Rome now be- 
came a free city after it had been governed by kings two 
hundred and forty years. The people chose for rulers two con- 
suls, elected yearly. 

Terence, the celebrated comic poet, was born at Carthage B. 
C. 195. He was the slave of Lucanus, a Roman senator, by 
whom he was afforded an education and finally freed. The 
Andria was the first play presented by him. Although a for- 
eigner and a freedman he divides with Cicero and Caesar the 
palm for pure Latinity. 

Thais. The line quoted is from Terence's Eunuch. 

Themistocles, a Grecian general associated with Miltiades 
at Marathon, was an able but often unscrupulous statesman. He 
urged the Athenians to build a fleet so that they could defeat 
the Persians. His ambition was to found a grand maritime em- 
pire, but his share in the treason of Pausanias having been dis- 
covered he was ostracized. He was welcomed by Artaxerxes, 
then king of Persia, and assigned the revenue of three cities. 
He lived like a prince, but finally ended his pitiable existence, it 
is said, with poison. 

Timon, an Athenian, called the Misanthrope, from his hatred 
of society. He forms the subject of one of Shakespeare's plays, 
and of one of Lucian's dialogues. 

Tubero Quintus, a Roman orator and jurist. He was a 
friend of Cicero and partisan of the senate and Pompey in the 
civil war. 

Viscellinus. See Cassius Sp. 



PRICE IS CENTS NET. 

DE AMICITIA 

(concerning friendship) 

OF 

MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO 



WTTTT 

Life of the Author, Topics for Discussion, and 
Brief Biographical Dictionary. 

BY 

MARY E. VAUGHAN 



CHICAGO: 
Albert. Scott & Co. 



CHOICE OF BOOKS. 



ESSAYS ON 

"How to Read;' "Poets of the Old World," Etc. 

. . . BY . . . 

FREDERICK HARRISON. 



Booklover's Edition. Gilt Top, Vellum Cloth, $i.oo 



It will be difficult to find elsewhere such plain common sense 
suggestions as to the value of reading, and the principles which 
should govern the selection of books. 

The Author says: "Men who are most observant as to the 
friends they make or the conversation they share, are carelessness 
itself as to the books to whom they intrust themselves, and the 
printed language with which they saturate their minds. Yet can 
any friendship or society be more important to us than that of 
books which form so large a part of our minds and even of our 
character? " . 

WORLD'S LITERATURE. 

*' Pre-Homeric 99 and. "Homeric A.ges m 9 ' 

. . . BY . . . 

MARY E. BURT. 



320 Pages. i2mo. Cloth. $1.00 Net. 



In the brief compass of this book one may become familiar with 
the great thoughts that found expression in these ages and which 
gave character to them. 

The reader or student whose time is necessarily limited may 
here learn much of the origin and development of myths, and their 
influence in the early expression of literature in a permanent form. 

The finest parts of both the Iliad and Odyssey have been se- 
lected and a running connection of these is made, thus giving the 
reader the whole story of each. There are also brief selections 
from Hesiod to conclude the volume. The book is a most practical 
and helpful one and should be in every library. 

Albert, Scott & Co., Publishers, 106 Wabash Ave., Chicago. 



